Original Blog Entry: President Obama losing support among his backers

truesee — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 22:29:24 GMT

President Obama losing support among his backers, poll finds, GOP has edge going into midterms

Sean Alfano

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, October 12th 2010, 10:26 AM

Somodevilla/GettyPresident Obama and Democratsare facing an uphill battle heading into the midterm elections.

Has hope turned into hopelessness?

More than 40% of voters who once considered themselves as backers of President Obama now say they either support him less or don't support him at all, according to a Bloomberg National poll Tuesday.

With exactly three weeks until crucial midterm elections, voters seem to dislike both parties, but Republicans appear likely to make big gains in the House and Senate.

They are the lesser of two evils, Carol Wortham, 62, of Texas said of Republicans.

Missy Coombs, 52, of Utah, however, said the country needs to be patient with the President.

I think people are knee- jerking a little too much. To expect instant results is crazy, she said.

Though the Democrats hold a 47%-45% advantage in favorability over the GOP, independent voters prefer Republicans six points more than Democrats.

For the most motivated voters, Republicans have a strong 51%-37% lead.

President Obama swept into the White House on a wave of voters who embraced his message of change.

The excitement they once felt is gone, said J. Ann Selzer, whose company conducted the Bloomberg poll, of voters. They are left wondering if they were sold a bag of goods.

The GOP is riding tepid support for its Pledge to America, the party's vague set of proposals that aims to cut taxes and slash roughly $100 billion from the federal budget in 2011.

According to the poll, 48% support the Pledge, while 39% disapprove.

The dwindling support for the President mirrors a poll in September in which 44% said they will likely vote for someone other than Obama in 2012.

In order to win control of the House, Republicans must grab 39 seats on Election Day; the magic number is 10 to take over the Senate.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2010/10/12/2010-10-12_president_obama_losing_support_among_his_backers_poll_finds_gop_has_edge_going_i.html#ixzz12BbTTzaM

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