Obama in statistical dead heat with Romney amid voter anxiety over the economy

President Obama tonedeaf to economic problems?

The Ticket - President Obama is statistically tied with Mitt Romney ahead of next year's presidential election, as a new poll finds voters increasingly pessimistic about the nation's economy.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll released Tuesday finds Obama's ratings bounce in the aftermath of Osama bin Laden's death has completely dissipated in the last month over concerns about how he's handling the slow pace of economic recovery.

According to the poll, Americans are closely divided over Obama's job performance--49 percent disapprove, 47 percent approve. By comparison, Obama's approval was at 56 percent in a Washington Post/Pew poll and at 52 percent in a Gallup poll conducted in the days after bin Laden's death.

According to the latest ABC/Post survey, 59 percent of respondents disapprove of Obama's handling of the economy—the highest number of his presidency. Perhaps most troubling to Obama's upcoming re-election bid is that slightly more voters--45 percent—now trust congressional Republicans over him—42 percent—to handle the economy. Those numbers mark an 11 point improvement for the GOP since March.

In another bad sign for Obama, 66 percent of those polled say the nation is on the wrong track, the highest number since he was elected in 2008.

Not surprisingly, the poll finds Obama's 2012 bid has taken a hit amid economic worries. The poll finds Romney with a narrow lead over Obama among registered voters—49 percent to 46 percent, within the margin of error. But Obama leads all other 2012 GOP hopefuls tested in the poll, including Sarah Palin who trails Obama by 15 points--more than any other potential Republican candidate.


Memo to President Obama: "It's the economy stupid".....