WHERE OBAMA STANDS – AT 10:14 A.M. ET:  In three days the political season will officially begin.  This is an off-year, but we start our political campaigns early in America.

Already there are signs that the upcoming fight will be brutal.  It is expected by many, as Howard Fineman reports, that the Dems, in particular, will wage a vicious, negative campaign that might make Joe McCarthy look like the king of ethics.  They have very little record to run on – Obama's greatest accomplishment is the number of vacations he's managed to take – and so they must avert the eyes of the public and direct attention to the opposition. 

As we enter this Labor Day weekend, where does the president stand?  Scott Rasmussen reports:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Saturday shows that 19% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as president. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21.

And overall:

Overall, 45% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president's performance. Fifty-four percent (54%) at least somewhat disapprove.

COMMENT:  We should note that Gallup has had the president's approval as low as 38% this past month.  The president's numbers are weak, but far from impossible.  In fact, in the Rasmussen survey he normall defeats Republican competitors.  Rick Perry now beats Mr. Obama by a few points, but the lead is well within the margin of error.  The race must still be called fluid, with Mr. Obama having the advantage of incumbency and a still swooning press.

September 3, 2011