(March 19) - President Barack Obama would cruise to re-election in 2012 if Sarah Palin is the Republican nominee, a new poll finds.
In the hypothetical contest, Obama would defeat the Alaska governor 55 percent to 35 percent, the poll by Public Policy Polling found.
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2012 GOP Contenders
Newt Gingrich, former U.S. House speaker, said on March 5 he'll seriously consider running for president in 2012. He tossed around the idea of running for the GOP nomination in 2008 but ultimately decided against it. Click for more possible 2012 GOP presidential contenders.
Nati Harnik, AP
Nati Harnik, AP
Also See: Commentary from Political Machine
Obama has the support of 89 percent of Democrats. Among Republicans, Palin has the support of 66 percent but 17 percent back Obama. Considering that Obama won just 9 percent of the Republican vote against John McCain, it appears that Palin would lose a lot more votes for the GOP, Public Policy Polling said.
Several national polls of GOP voters have suggested Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 2008, would be the party's No. 1 choice to head the ticket in 2012.
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Dean Debnam, president of Public Policy Polling, cautioned that a lot could happen before the 2012 election.
"It's impossible to say what twists and turns the American political landscape will see
between now and 2012," Denam said.
"What is clear is that four months ago John McCain lost to Barack Obama by seven points nationally, and at this point in time Sarah Palin trails Obama by a much greater 20 point margin. Obama would easily win more than 400 electoral votes in a contest against Palin at this point in time," he said.
The poll found Obama's overall national approval rating is 55 percent, with 37 percent of voters disapproving of his job performance. In comparison, 50 percent of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of Sarah Palin, with 41 percent holding a positive view of her.
The national survey of 691 voters was conducted March 13-15 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent.
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Palin's Path
Sarah Palin delivers her resignation speech as governor of Alaska during a ceremony in front of a crowd of about 5,000 people in Fairbanks, Alaska, Sunday. During her address, she scolded "some seemingly hell bent on tearing down our nation," and she told the media: "How about, in honor of the American soldier, you quit makin' things up?"
Al Grillo, AP
Al Grillo, AP
