OBAMA SLIPS AGAIN – AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  Very much a surprise.  Andrew Malcom at the L.A. Times's Top of the Ticket blog reports that President Obama's support among blacks and Hispanics, two solid pillars of his political base, is slipping:

...this morning comes the most troubling political news for Obama's four-day-old reelection campaign:

His job approval among blacks is sliding.

Once monolithic, blacks' support for the first African American president is still....

....immense. But for unclear reasons it's declined about 7% from well above 90% to 85% in March. That's a new low since Obama's inauguration 26 months ago.

Equally ominous for Obama in 2012, his approval among Hispanics, the nation's fastest-growing demographic, has also fallen to again tie his term low of 54%. That's a drop of 11 points from its early high of 65%.

Gallup seems puzzled by the unexpected decline, mentioning March's major news as possible reasons: the ongoing fight with Congress over no fiscal 2011 federal budget and Obama leading the country into a new military combat zone over Libya.

COMMENT:  I would imagine that black support for Obama will solidify during the election campaign.  There's a matter of group loyalty involved.  But if Republicans can seriously dent Hispanic support, that could be real news, and a couple of real states.

The Hispanic community is far more diverse than many imagine, and there is every reason why conservatives should pursue the Hispanic vote.  This effort would be helped by the act of putting a Hispanic star on the national ticket – someone like Marco Rubio of Florida or Susanna Martinez, the governor of New Mexico.  And I wouldn't be surprised.

April 7, 2011