Virginians divided on Obama performance
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
October 26, 2009
When President Obama pays his second visit to Virginia on Tuesday on behalf of Creigh Deeds, he will step into a state sharply divided in its assessment of the president's job performance at a critical juncture for Democrats' hopes of keeping the governor's mansion.
Virginians rate Obama's job performanceRecent polls show Obama's job approval numbers hovering around 50 percent in Virginia, mirroring attitudes held across the country.Clarus Research Group (Oct. 18-19):
47 percent approve
43 percent disapprove
Public Policy Polling (Oct. 16-19):
41 percent approve
52 percent disapprove
Rasmussen Reports (Oct. 12):
53 percent approve
47 percent disapprove
A Clarus Research Group survey last week showed Obama highly popular among Democrats but struggling particularly among Virginia independents, who register 47 percent disapproval and 43 percent approval.
The flat poll numbers are bad news for Deeds, who is depending increasingly on the president's help to carry him to victory, despite reports that the White House is already planning to contain the damage of losing the Virginia governor's race. The anxieties are rooted in Deeds' own lackluster poll numbers. Polls this month put him anywhere between seven and 19 points behind his Republican opponent, Bob McDonnell.
