WHERE OBAMA STANDS – AT 8:51 A.M. ET:  The Gallup organization has some grim political news for President Obama this morning, but the president can still seek political asylum in the approving state of Hawaii:

PRINCETON, NJ -- Residents of Hawaii gave native son President Barack Obama the highest average 2010 job approval rating (66%) of any of the 50 states, surpassed only by the 84% Obama received in the District of Columbia. Obama's lowest average state approval rating in 2010 was 28% in Wyoming.

Half of the 10 most approving states in 2010 were located in the Northeast: New York, Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Three exceptions were Maryland, California, and Obama's home state of Illinois. All of these states tilt significantly more Democratic in terms of political party identification than the national average.

Five of the 10 least approving states in 2010 were in the West: Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Alaska, and Montana. The other least approving states were mostly in the middle of the country, including Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Kansas.

Obama's overall average approval rating in 2010 was 47%, down 11 percentage points from the 58% he recorded in his first calendar year in office. For purposes of this state-by-state analysis, Obama's average is calculated for the calendar year, and is therefore slightly different than the yearly average calculated beginning with his inauguration on January 20, 2009.

And...

Obama's approval rating fell in 2010 compared with 2009 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, although the general rank order of the states based on Obama job approval was quite similar in both years.

COMMENT:  Right now the president seems to be going through another period of decline.  We'll check his standings in the Rasmussen poll when they're posted in about half an hour, but recent Rasmussen numbers have been in indigestion territory.  It's hard to say exactly why, but Mr. Obama seems to be out to lunch on the major issues of the day, showing little leadership, moral or otherwise.  I don't know, maybe he misses the Libya that was.

February 23, 2011