Two polls released Wednesday marginalized Donald Trump but revealed that President Barack Obama was enjoying a surge of popularity after American forces killed terrorist Osama bin Laden. And the president leads the pack of Republicans looking to beat him in 2012.
A poll from Ispos found Obama getting more than 50 percent against every single one of a host of Republican challengers. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee came closest in the poll but still lost with the president getting 51 percent support of those surveyed, with the Republican behind him with 39 percent. Obama led former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, 51 percent to 38 percent.
The president led the rest of the field by much larger margins, beating former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich of Georgia, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Gov. Mitch Daniels of Indiana by 18 percent; former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska by 19 percent; and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and former Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah by 21 percent.
The poll continued the bad news for the political aspirations of billionaire and reality TV star Donald Trump. Obama destroyed Trump in the poll, beating him 57 percent to 30 percent.
However, Republicans can take heart at this good news: Only 34 percent of those surveyed approve of the way Obama has managed the economy.
The Ispos poll of 1,029 voters, commissioned by Reuters news service, was taken between May 5-9 and had a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.
A poll released Wednesday from Public Policy Polling (PPP), a firm with connections to prominent Democrats, showed Obama leading by a smaller margin.
The PPP poll had Romney doing the best against Obama but still losing, with the president taking 47 percent and the Republican pulling 42 percent. Obama led Huckabee 49 percent to 42 percent.
When PPP matched Obama against the rest of the Republican pack, the presidents lead increased dramatically. He led Gingrich and Daniels by 14 points, Palin by 17 points and Trump by 18 points. Against Gingrich, Palin and Trump, Obama won more than 50 percent support in the PPP poll.
The PPP poll found Obamas approval was weak -- 49 percent approving and 43 percent disapproving -- but the Republican field was upside down. Huckabee was seen by 33 percent in a favorable light and by 41 percent in an unfavorable one. While 32 percent viewed Romney favorably, 41 percent saw him unfavorably. Daniels remained mostly unknown, with 53 percent not sure how they felt about him while 14 percent viewed him favorably and 33 percent unfavorably.
A majority of those surveyed had unfavorable views of Gingrich, Palin and Trump. Gingrich garnered 53 percent unfavorable numbers while 29 percent viewed him favorably. While 33 percent viewed Palin favorably, 60 percent of those surveyed saw her in an unfavorable light. Trump was seen unfavorably by 65 percent and viewed favorably by only 24 percent.
The PPP poll of 814 voters was taken between May 5-8 and had a margin of error of +/-3.4 percent.
Other Republicans who have either declared their candidacies or are still considering it include former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton, businessman Herman Cain, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico, activist Fred Karger, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore of Alabama, former Gov. George Pataki of New York, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former Gov. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
