Public Still Doesn't Like Wall Street Willie

There are a couple of new polls out that verify what other recent polls have shown -- that the president currently has a lead over Willard Mitt Romney (aka Wall Street Willie). The Gallup Poll shows the president leading 49% to 42%, and the Public Policy Polling survey shows the president leading by 49% to 44%. Gallup has the president with a 50% favorable rating, while PPP has it at 48%.

But more interesting than the electoral percentages (at least at this point of the campaign) is what the public thinks about Romney. To put it bluntly, most people don't like him very much. In almost every group surveyed by Public Policy Polling, Romney's viewed more unfavorably than favorably -- and for most groups the unfavorable rating is significantly higher. Here's the demographical breakdown of Romney's favorability (with the favorable rating given first and the unfavorable rating in parentheses):

General Public...............36% (51%)

Women...............32% (55%)
Men...............41% (46%)

Independents...............34% (52%)
Democrats...............10% (79%)
Republicans...............67% (17%)

Liberal...............12% (79%)
Moderate...............29% (61%)
Conservative...............56% (25%)

Whites...............43% (44%)
African-Americans...............7% (80%)
Asians...............15% (51%)
Hispanics...............23% (64%)
American Indian...............35% (51%)
Other...............22% (58%)

Union...............23% (63%)
Non-union...............39% (47%)

18 to 29...............37% (56%)
30 to 45...............27% (56%)
46 to 65...............38% (48%)
Over 65...............42% (44%)

Northeast...............30% (57%)
Midwest...............40% (49%)
South...............38% (48%)
West...............36% (46%)

Under $30,000...............30% (51%)
$30,000 to $50,000...............36% (52%)
$50,000 to $75,000...............34% (56%)
$75,000 to $100,000...............38% (47%)
Over $100,000...............41% (49%)

Those are some pretty bad numbers. The only two groups that give Romney a higher favorable than unfavorable number are Republicans and conservatives -- and even then, 17% of Republicans and 25% of conservatives view him unfavorably. Among all other groups in all parts of the country, Romney is just not liked very much. There's still a little over six months until election day, but it's not going to be easy for Romney to change this (especially considering the positions he has taken on the issues). Unless the economy slips even deeper into recession or unemployment climbs precipitously, it's looking like the president will get a second term.