Obama's Gallup approval numbers have risen only a mere 3 points since last fall, when they at the nadir of 41 percent largely due to the disastrous launch of HealthCare.gov. That pitiful and meager improvement has leveled off with his ratings still being abysmal and are comparable to his numbers just before the 2010 election, when the Democrats lost 63 House and six Senate seats.
Six of the critical Democratic-held Senate seats up this year are in states that Mitt Romney carried by 14 points or more in 2012. And, it's safe to say that Obama's job-approval ratings in these states are significantly lower than his national numbers.
Another problem exacerbating the Democrats chances in the mid-terms is the general perception that, regardless of whether one agrees with the administration's policies, that Obama officials lack competence. That on simple matters of policy execution whether it is the handling the economy, the launch of HealthCare.gov, the general administration of the Affordable Care Act, or problems with the VA, they seem like the 3 Stooges. The steady erosion of voters' confidence in the Obama administration further hampers the Democrats' ability to bounce back from these negative events.
