(Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)



Back on 4/11, we noted this story: NJ Gov: The darling of the GOP barely treading water in latest polls. In the post, we highlighted the fact that poster boy Christie (the "new look" for the GOP, and a hot stove candidate for President for the Republican base unenthused about their current choices) was running behind Obama in NJ and had pretty unimpressive polling numbers.

Today, the latest Q-poll is out, and there's more reinforcement for the idea that Christie is more a loser than a winner:

New Jersey voters do not believe Gov. Christopher Christie's claim that he would beat President Barack Obama in a 2012 White House run and back the president over the governor 52 - 39 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. President Obama also tops Gov. Christie in job approval and likeability. Gov. Christie's split 47 - 46 percent job approval compares to a 52 - 40 percent job approval in a February 9 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. In today's survey, men approve of Christie 56 - 38 percent as women disapprove 53 - 38 percent. Christie gets an 80 - 16 percent approval from Republicans and a 55 - 36 percent approval from independent voters. Democrats disapprove 75 - 17 percent.



"Bully," "arrogant," "good," "aggressive" are among words offered when voters are asked, with no suggestions given, to describe Gov. Christie in one word. Answers include:

Bully - offered by 140 voters

Arrogant - offered 41 times

Good - 41

Aggressive - 39

Strong - 35

Tough - 34

Determined - 30

Honest/Honesty - 28

Excellent - 27

Bold - 16

Courageous/Courage - 16

Trying - 15

Effective - 13

Forceful - 12

That's some gender gap between what men and women think. But what's really interesting is this:"Bully" and "arrogant" top the list. Maybe that's the explanation for why Christie is the poster boy for the modern GOP. And for those out there who think he's the ultimate stealth candidate for 2012, don't hold your breath. He'd lose both women and his home state.

In fact, the only reason he's still being talked about is because the rest of the field remains so weak.