Somodevilla/GettyPresident Obama's public approval rating has hit an all-time low.

Two-plus years before the 2012 election, a Republican candidate — any Republican candidate — has a better chance of being President than current White House occupant Barack Obama does. 

According to a new Quinnipiac University poll , Americans would rather vote for an unnamed Republican than Obama in 2012 by a 39% to 36% margin. 

Obama's approval rating is now at an all-time low. According to the poll, 44% of Americans approved of the president, while 48% disapproved. Just two months ago, 48% of voters approved while 43% did not. 

"It was a year ago, during the summer of 2009 that America's love affair with President Barack Obama began to wane," said Peter A. Brown., assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. 

And it is the confidence of those critical independent voters he is losing the most. 

"Today, his support among Democrats remains strong, but the disillusionment among independent voters, who dropped from 52% to 37% approval to 52% to 38% disapproval in the last 12 months, is what leads to his weakness overall when voters start thinking about 2012." 

It's possible that Obama could see a bump in his popularity by extending jobless benefits for 2.5 million Americans who have been unemployed for six weeks or more. The House is expected to vote on the legislation Thursday, after the Senate OK'd it Wednesday. He has said he will quickly sign the bill into law. 

The poll is good news for all Republicans — but especially good news for potential 2012 Republican candidates like Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin — all of whom are rumored to be considering a run. 

Among the hot issues, 56% of voters said they disapproved his handling of the economy, 51% did not like his handling of the Gulf oil spill and 58% disliked his policy on illegal immigration — with 60% saying the federal government lawsuit against Arizona's new immigration law was a bad idea. 

American voters said 48% to 40% that Obama does not deserve reelection in 2012. 

From July 13-19, 2,181 voters were interviewed. The poll has an error margin of 2.1 percentage points.

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