Robert Gibbs mocks Gallup’s daily tracking poll earlier this week. Second poll shows Obama at 47%

If White House officials were peeved at Gallup Poll for its reporting on President Barack Obama’s recent slide to 47 percent approval — and they were — imagine the reaction at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. to the survey released Wednesday by Public Policy Polling, which also reported the president’s approval rating at 47 percent, but added this analysis:

“Perhaps the greatest measure of Obama’s declining support is that just 50 percent of voters now say they prefer having him as president to George W. Bush, with 44 percent saying they’d rather have his predecessor. Given the horrendous approval ratings Bush showed during his final term, that’s somewhat of a surprise and an indication that voters are increasingly placing the blame on Obama for the country’s difficulties instead of giving him space because of the tough situation he inherited. The closeness in the Obama/Bush numbers also has implications for the 2010 elections. Using the Bush card may not be particularly effective for Democrats anymore, which is good news generally for Republicans and especially ones like [former Ohio Republican Rep.] Rob Portman who are running for office and have close ties to the former president.”


On Tuesday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs mocked Gallup’s daily tracking poll, saying, “I don’t put a lot of stake in — never have — in the EKG that is the daily Gallup trend.”

Gallup Poll Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport responded in a Web posting that “Gibbs said that if Gallup were his EKG, he would visit his doctor. Well, I think the doctor might ask him what’s going on in his life that would cause his EKG to be fluctuating so much. There is, in fact, a lot going on at the moment — the health care bill, the jobs summit, the Copenhagen climate conference and Afghanistan.”

On Wednesday, a new Quinnipiac poll found Obama with the lowest approval rating of his presidency: 46 percent.