Obama's Re-Election Blues

No political insider is suggesting that California will be in play in next year's presidential race. 

But the newest Field Poll contains some grim news for President Obama's campaign. 

Even in this bluest of states, where Democrats did well in the 2010 elections even as Republicans made big gains around the rest of the nation, the President's popularity is plunging.

The Field Poll shows that, for the first time since he was inaugurated, Barack Obama's job approval rating has dropped below the fifty percent mark in California.  

Forty six percent say they approve, compared to 44 percent who disapprove.

The sour economy and double-digit unemployment, along with the recent spectacle over raising the debt ceiling in Washington, are taking their toll.  Disenchantment has been quick to take hold.  Even among Democrats, the poll found a double-digit drop in the President's job approval.

A Republican hasn't carried the state in a presidential race since George Bush Sr. did it back in 1988.  In the nearly quarter-century since, Democrats have dominated.   So it's not likely that Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, or any of the other GOP candidates will focus on California other than as a treasure trove of campaign cash.

And in fact the Field Poll shows Obama with a high favorability rating of 55 percent, a key factor in elections.

But his weakening popularity here underscores the President's vulnerability on a national level, just as the campaigns are gearing up.\

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