By: Jeffrey Klein
Examiner.com

There is a very good chance that President Barack Obama did not want to get out of bed this morning–no doubt–after having likely received a heads up about the revelations that emerged from the most recent New York Times/CBS political poll.

Historically a very liberal haven of hope–but, now the cat is out of the bag.

Stephanie Condon’s article yesterday in CBS News Political Hotsheet, wasted no words in getting right down to business, … “President Obama’s approval rating has hit the lowest level ever in CBS News polling … Just 41 percent of Americans approve of the job Mr. Obama is doing as president … Another 47 percent disapprove of his performance–up from 41 percent last month.”

“Mr. Obama’s approval rating was 50 percent last month.”

Even Jim Ruttenberg and Marjorie Connelly’s NYT article yesterday, which was the most forgiving toward the president, must have been to be grueling to read.

“Despite improving job growth and an extended Republican primary fight dividing his would-be opponents, President Obama is heading into the general election season on treacherous political ground …”

“At a time of rising gas prices, heightened talk of war with Iran and setbacks in Afghanistan, Mr. Obama’s approval rating dropped substantially in recent weeks … with 41 percent … expressing approval … and 47 percent saying they disapprove — a dangerous position for any incumbent seeking re-election.”

“The poll provides a statistical reminder of how unsettled and unpredictable this year’s political landscape remains. Just one month ago, Mr. Obama reached a critical benchmark by winning approval from 50 percent of Times/CBS News poll respondents, his re-election prospects lifting along with confidence that the nation was finally emerging from the aftermath of the Great Recession.”

However, digging into the numbers further reveals that President Obama and his crack Chicago campaign team have seriously failed in their ceaseless attempts to lead the American people off the scent of the economy and jobs, which are, by far, the two most important and unchanged [campaign] issues, at 26% and 25% respectively…versus healthcare (Obamacare), which fell from 12% at the beginning of his presidency, to just 3 percent now.

Amazingly, with 13% of the respondents identifying themselves as “Hispanic,” only 1% said that “Immigration” was the most important issue in the election.

When asked about the “Condition of the Economy,” 45% responded that it was “fairly bad”, followed by another 30% who said it was “very bad”–only 1% believed it was “very good.”

Not unexpectedly, 54% disapproved of Obama’s handling of the economy, while just 39% approved–like the economy, these readings are virtually unchanged from the November 2010 period poll results from this source.

“Are you better off now than four years ago”, now famous as the question that helped Ronald Reagan sink President Jimmy Carter’s ship of state–yielded just 20% who said yes.

In a wider question, 63% answered that the country was on the “Seriously Wrong’ [sic] Track,” while just 29% picked “Right Track.”

The political affiliations of those polled have moved considerable since Obama was inaugurated, with Democrats falling from 39 to just 30 percent–giving up 5 points to Republicans who have increased from 21 to 26 percent.

The other 4 points went to Independents, who have risen from 31 to 35 percent. And, according to recent polls, two-thirds of them are now leaning away from Obama.

In spite of the Herculean efforts by the NYT writers’ to “fluff up” their story to create a soft landing spot for Barack Obama’s reelection bid–the shear weight of fact, mixed with a hardy dose of reality, has produced a “serious hard place” for him to land.