# New poll shows a Obama losing heads up to Santorum

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-poll-shows-a-obama-losing-heads-up-to-santorum/614254>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [February 28, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-poll-shows-a-obama-losing-heads-up-to-santorum/614254 "2012-02-28T15:30:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-poll-shows-a-obama-losing-heads-up-to-santorum/614254/1 "2012-02-28T15:30:30Z")

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Once again, if you want to get closer to the truth on such matters you can’t trust just one poll, but have to take a look at a very broad swath. For instance, I could link to [this ABC poll](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/obama-up-in-swing-states-health-care-law-down/), which shows the President with a healthy 53-45% approval in swing states, and overall has 10 point leads on the two GOP frontrunners, but I wouldn’t call that, by itself, definitive at all. Even [this electoral map](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/2012_elections_electoral_college_map.html), which gives Obama a 227/181 electoral edge, would still be highly preliminary no matter whether you are heartened or horrified.

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**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-poll-shows-a-obama-losing-heads-up-to-santorum/614254/2 "2012-02-28T15:33:08Z")

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Once again, if you want to get closer to the truth on such matters you can’t trust just one poll, but have to take a look at a very broad swath. For instance, I could link to [this ABC poll](http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/obama-up-in-swing-states-health-care-law-down/), which shows the President with a healthy 53-45% approval in swing states, and overall has 10 point leads on the two GOP frontrunners, but I wouldn’t call that, by itself, definitive at all. Even [this electoral map](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/2012_elections_electoral_college_map.html), which gives Obama a 227/181 electoral edge, would still be highly preliminary no matter whether you are heartened or horrified.

Lalala\<—because the board insists that I’ve already posted a duplicate, even tho I haven’t… 😕