Newt Gingrich finds himself at the bottom of the leaderboard

Despite his vast experience and impressive credentials, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich hasn't been able to find his electoral footing. His campaign continues to slither along, with the vast majority of right-minded Americans not feeling immensely positive about his candidacy. Earlier today, Gallup released some polling data that surely corroborates this notion:

...Newt Gingrich's Positive Intensity Score dropped to 6 in the two weeks spanning May 16-29, down from 11 for May 9-22. Gingrich's current Positive Intensity Score is his lowest to date, off from a score as high as 19 earlier this year, and among the lowest for any Republican candidate Gallup is tracking.

Here's a visual of his steep decline:

Talk about taking a plunge! Gingrich will have a great deal of work ahead of him if he hopes to have any chance during the primaries. After all, he is a well-known politician, especially among Republicans. This is part of the reason he'll have to work so diligently to change public perception. People know who he is. There's a history there. It's not as though these negative numbers are a result of not being able to recognize him:

Overall, 61% of Republicans who recognize Gingrich now view him favorably, while 32% view him unfavorably. This gives Gingrich the second-lowest favorable and the highest unfavorable rating of any candidate Gallup is tracking.

Whether Gingrich has enough time to convince people he's the best choice to go head-to-head against President Obama in 2012 is yet to be determined, but the clock is certainly ticking.