Obama poll surge; Christie makes splash

17 February 2011 |permalink | email article

It got little attention last week but President Obama leads several top would-be Republican challengers by an even larger margin than last year, a new poll found. That the info comes from Fox News makes it much more delicious.

Obama would beat former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in head-to-head match-ups if the 2012 election were held today.

Obama leads Romney by 7%, up from 1% last fall: Huckabee by 8%, up from 2%; and would beat Palin by 21%, and Gingrich by 20%. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says he’s not running in 2012 and he may be wise: Obama beats him 54% to 34%

So it’s not a big surprise Republicans are shaken and looking for a fresh new face to enter the arena. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, speaking to the American Enterprise Institute scored yesterday in Washington in his first major speech. He singled out both parties for ignoring the fiscal crisis, but was far tougher on Obama.

Christie’s signature is his outspoken and blunt talk: “You’re going to have to raise the retirement age for Social Security. Oh, I just said it and I’m still standing here. I did not vaporize into the carpet and I said it!” It’s the kind of bombast and candor which has shaken up politics in a Democratic-leading state. Observers see him as a possible VP on the 2012 ticket. But impressionable media and blog pundits see the freshman NJ governor as the new new thing. 

Read ‘em and weep

“Because Haley Barbour has one foot in the new south and one foot in the old south, it means he occasionally sticks his foot in his mouth. He has a reflex to try and understand and please both sides, but on racially-charged issues, there’s only one way to go if you want to be President. And that’s to make a clean break with the past.” – Mark McKinnon a Republican strategist who has worked with George W. Bush and John McCain.

“I was better than I ever imagined I could be.” – Jay Carney, former Time Washington bureau chief after his first White House daily briefing. 

210