Obama Tanks in PA, Reelection Looking Bleak

Ask any consumer of political conventional wisdom about 2012 and they will spew puerile platitudes about Republicans lacking a candidate to defeat Obama.  While the Republicans field, as currently constituted, is indeed sub-par, Obama simply cannot win reelection with his current approval numbers.

Yesterday, Quinnipiac University published a poll showing Obama with his lowest approval rating ever in Pennsylvania.  This, from their report:

President Barack Obama's job approval rating in Pennsylvania is a negative 42 - 53 percent, an all-time low and a major drop from his 51 - 44 percent approval February 17, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Pennsylvania voters say 52 - 42 percent he does not deserve a second term, his worst showing on that measure also. In a mythical matchup, he gets 40 percent to an unnamed Republican challenger's 41 percent in the 2012 presidential race. 

Also, among Independents, his approval rating is a lopsided 37-57.

Keep in mind that Republicans don't need PA to win the election.  The more critical states are Ohio and Florida, where Obama's approval is even more dismal.  Granted that we are in the incipient stages of the campaign, however, based upon the trajectory of the economy, job market, and inflation, it appears that Obama is the one who is the underdog.  Don't be discouraged by the propagators of superficial inside-the-beltway conventional wisdom.