According to the latest McClatchy-Marist Poll.

When given the choice between former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and the president, voters divide. 46% of registered voters say they would back the president while 45% say they would cast their ballot for Romney. Nine percent are undecided.

When McClatchy-Marist last reported this question in January, Mr. Obama had a 13 percentage point lead over Romney. At that time, a slim majority — 51% — said they would vote for the president while 38% thought they would back Romney. 11% were undecided.

The president has lost ground among independent voters. Currently a plurality — 45% — back Romney while 42% support Obama. 13% are undecided. Previously, the president held a 10 percentage point lead over Romney.

And, what about if Mike Huckabee is the Republican nominee?

When paired with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, President Obama has a slight lead. 48% of voters say they would support the president in this hypothetical contest while 43% believe they would back Huckabee. Nine percent are undecided. However, Huckabee has narrowed the gap. In McClatchy-Marist’s previous survey, 12 percentage points separated the two. In January, half of voters — 50% — said Obama was their candidate while 38% said the same about Huckabee. 12% were undecided.

Other GOP potential nominees don’t do so well against President Obama, including Sarah Palin (56% Vs. 34%)  and Donald Trump (54% Vs. 38%).

The GOP Field Head to Head (Republicans and Republican Leaning Independents):

• Mitt Romney – 18%
• Mike Huckabee – 17%
• Donald Trump – 13%
• Rudy Giuliani – 9%
• Sarah Palin – 8%
• Ron Paul – 7%
• Newt Gingrich – 4%
• Michele Bachmann – 3%
• Mitch Daniels – 2%
• Tim Pawlenty – 2%

Other notable findings:

• Romney and Huckabee run evenly among Republicans with 19% each.
• Huckabee is the favorite among Tea Party supporters with 20%.
• Trump tops the list among Republican leaning independents with 18%.

This is another national poll, so you really cannot read too much into it except that President Obama is not doing well against two Republican nominees who have not really started to campaign and one who has not even decided to run for the Presidency.

President Barack Obama has officially announced that he will seek re-election next year, but he faces an electorate that still needs convincing. According to this McClatchy-Marist Poll, a plurality of registered voters nationwide — 44% — say they definitely plan to vote against Mr. Obama in 2012. 37% report they definitely plan to vote for him, and 18% are unsure.

Despite the president’s transition into campaign mode, little has changed on this question since McClatchy-Marist last asked it in November. At that time, 48% of voters said they will not support the president in his re-election bid while 36% thought they would. 16%, at the time, were unsure.

According to the latest Washington Post-ABC News Poll.

This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone April 14-17, 2011, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults, including users of both conventional and cellular phones. The results from the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, Pa.

Again, this is a national poll which, I have mentioned before, means little in the grand scheme of polling for the Presidency. What is important here is that the narrative from the left-leaning Washington Post is that President Obama is vulnerable because of the economy.

Deepening economic pessimism has pushed down President Obama’s approval rating to a near record low, but he holds an early advantage over prospective 2012 rivals in part because of widespread dissatisfaction with Republican candidates, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

In the survey, 47 percent approve of the job Obama is doing, down seven points since January. Half of all Americans disapprove of his job performance, with 37 percent saying they “strongly disapprove,” nearly matching the worst level of his presidency.

Driving the downward movement in Obama’s standing are renewed concerns about the economy and fresh worry about rising prices, particularly for gasoline. Despite signs of economic growth, 44 percent of Americans see the economy as getting worse, the highest percentage to say so in more than two years.

The toll on Obama is direct: 57 percent disapprove of the job the president is doing dealing with the economy, tying his highest negative rating when it comes to the issue. And the president is doing a bit worse among politically important independents.

Then, there is the continuing narrative from the LEFT, that despite Obama’s problems with the economy, the GOP field is doing worse. Well, perhaps.

If Obama is running into headwinds, however, his potential Republican opponents face serious problems, as well. Less than half of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are satisfied with the field of GOP candidates.

That field is still taking shape, but the sentiment is a big falloff from four years ago, when nearly two-thirds of Republicans were satisfied with their options.

Lack of enthusiasm for the candidates came in other measures, as well. When Republicans and GOP-leaners were asked who they would vote for in a primary or caucus, only former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney registered in double digits, with 16 percent. More than double that number expressed no opinion and an additional 12 percent volunteered “none” or “no one.”

Businessman Donald Trump (8 percent), former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee (6 percent) and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (5 percent) were the only other names volunteered by more than 2 percent of respondents.

The fact is the GOP is keeping its powder dry and waiting to tag team President Obama. This is a smart strategy.

As Obama and the Democrats gear up their campaign (which, by the way, will only be in about 10 states), the GOP field is maturing. Frankly, a number of potential candidates will not be around past two or three primary electoral contests.

On the bright side of this poll, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are within the margin of error nationally and they really have not started to campaign.

And, the attention the past two weeks has been on the surrogate Donald Trump who has been attacking Obama mercilessly without any of the baggage falling upon Romney or Huckabee. The question will be how much will Obama be able to take before attacking Trump with surrogates?

Again, not too much in this poll, except that President Obama is vulnerable and especially vulnerable on the economy.