Poll: Obama, Romney tied in matchup

Mitt Romney is running even with President Obama in a hypothetical match-up, Rasmussen finds.

Each would garner 45%, with 7% supporting a third party candidate and 3% undecided.

Meanwhile, Obama would top Sarah Palin 48%-42%. Interestingly, 21% of respondents say Palin should run as an independent in 2012 if she loses the GOP nomination. Rasmussen seems to think this is unimpressive–“just 21%,” they conclude. But it seems to me to indicate that one out of every five Americans is a die hard Palin enthusiast, and that’s significant.

A big disclaimer: While interesting, this poll doesn’t tell us a whole lot more than Obama has become slightly less popular in recent weeks due to a flurry of attacks on the effectiveness of the stimulus and the price tag of his healthcare poll.

The poll, for example, asks respondents who they would vote for “if the election were held today.” Well, the election won’t be held today. It will be held in over three years. So a lot is going to change.

The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3%