Democrats' election enthusiasm takes a nosedive

In order to win reelection, President Barack Obama needs to energize his base for voter turnout similar to 2008. But the latest poll from Gallup has some bad news for Obama's reelection campaign -- Democrats' voter enthusiasm has plummeted in recent months:

A Gallup/USA Today poll found that only 39 percent of Democrats now say they are “more enthusiastic than usual” about the 2012 election. That’s down from 68 percent in 2004 and 61 in 2008.

Republicans, conversely, have seen a sharp rise since 2008, when only 35 percent said they were “more enthusiastic than usual.” In the latest survey, 51 percent said they were enthusiastic about the upcoming election, a 12-point advantage over the Democrats.

Also troubling for Democrats is that a significant portion of that drop has come since the general election race between President Obama and GOP candidate Mitt Romney kicked-off this year. In February, Democrats only trailed Republicans in enthusiasm by a margin of 53 to 45.