Poll: Even a 'Generic' Republican Has an Edge Over Obama

Over the past few weeks, at least one poll has shown that Mitt Romney has the ability to potentially beat Barack Obama in 2012 (pending he secures the nomination, of course). Rather than naming names, a separate poll conducted by Gallup and released this past Thursday pits Obama against a "generic" Republican presidential candidate.

The findings appear to corroborate the notion that a GOP contender -- at least at this point in the race -- may have a real opportunity to steal the White House away from the president. Even a no-name, faceless Republican currently has a five-percentage point edge over Obama. Below, you can see the results for yourself:

The situation is grim for the president, though the political landscape is ever-changing and November 2012 is a long way off -- anything is possible at this point. The American Spectator's Ross Kaminsky breaks it down:

...the last time the same poll was taken -- a month ago -- Obama held a three point lead over a Republican-to-be-named-later. Thus, the swing is a large 8 percentage points, an amount which can't possibly be statistically insignificant. (And again, if it is, then this poll question should never be asked in this way.)

Finally, it's one thing for an incumbent to trail in polls against a particular opponent. But it's another thing entirely to trail a generic, nameless, faceless candidate. In the two prior election cycles where there was no front-runner at this point in the election cycle, Gallup polled the question of the incumbent versus a generic member of the other party.

In both cases, the incumbent had a huge lead -- although George H.W. Bush ended up losing to Bill Clinton. For Barack Obama to trail a generic Republican right now shows far more weakness than Gallup would have us believe.

What do you think? Will a Republican be able to hold such a lead through to the 2012 election?

(H/T: American Spectator)