Here's something that should keep the Democrats up at night:
Sarah Palin isn't even a candidate for president - yet - and she's gaining major ground on the president.
A new McClatchy-Marist poll finds that the half-term, dropout governor of Alaska trails President Barack Obama by only 5 percentage points â 49% to 44% in a hypothetical matchup. Three months ago, Palin trailed Obama by 26 percentage points.
And even more troubling for the president: Palin now leads him among the all-important independent voters.
Let me remind you: Palin hasn't even announced she's running. She tells the F-word network that she's "one of those still considering" a run. She acknowledges she will have to decide soon since some of the early-voting states have a November deadline to get on the ballot.
But it's not all good for Palin. The bad news is that 72% of Republicans and independents who lean Republican don't want her to run.
As for the president, there are other disturbing findings in this survey:
A majority of those polled say the president will lose to the Republican nominee, whoever it is. Also, 49% say they definitely plan to vote against Obama. For independents, that number is even higher at 53%.
Pollsters say this shows how "the middle" is not Obama's right now. In order to win re-election, he will either need to win back independent voters or energize the base - in ways he hasn't so far.
Other hypothetical match-ups in this poll show the president leading Mitt Romney by a mere 2 points and Rick Perry by 9 points. These two men actually are candidates for president.
Hereâs my question to you: What does it say about President Obama's chances in 2012 if Sarah Palin is within five points of him in one poll and she isn't even in the race?
http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2...and-she-isnt-even-in-the-race/?iref=obnetwork
