Poll: Americans Divided Over A Second Obama Term

A majority of Americans don’t believe President Barack Obama deserves to serve a second term, according to a new poll from AP/GfK.

The poll found that 52 percent of Americans said Obama should not win reelection while 43 percent said that he should. The numbers represent a growing margin. In mid-October, 50 percent of AP/GfK respondents said that Obama should not be re-elected while 46 percent said they would back him for a second term.

Despite the apparent lag in support for Obama, he still fares relatively well when pitted against the GOP frontrunners. In a match-up against Mitt Romney, Obama essentially ties, with 47 percent backing the President and 46 percent supporting the former Massachusetts Governor. Against Gingrich, the President holds a clear lead, at 51 to 42 percent.

The poll was conducted between December 8th and 12th but was released Friday. It surveyed 1,000 randomly selected adults.

SC Governor Backs Romney

Nikki Haley, the Governor of South Carolina and a rising star in the GOP, endorsed Mitt Romney for the part’s nominee Friday morning.

During an appearance on Fox News, Haley cited Romney’s private sector experience, heralding the former Massachusetts Governor as a Beltway outsider.

“What I want someone who is not part of the chaos that is Washington,” Haley said. “Someone who knows what it’s like to make a decision to lead.” 

Haley, who was elected in 2010, added that she believed Romney was best suited to beat President Barack Obama in a general election.

South Carolina is a key primary state and recent polls show Romney trailing Gingrich by significant margins.

The South Carolina primary will take place on January 21st. In 2008, the state was won by John McCain, with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee coming in second. Romney did not campaign in the state.

Cheney Says U.S. Should Have Destroyed Downed Drone

Former Vice President Dick Cheney believes the President Barack Obama should have destroyed the American drone currently in the Iranian government’s possession.

“They’ll send it back in pieces after they’ve gotten all the intelligence they can out of it,” Cheney warned during an interview on CNN Monday.

The former Vice President explained that the U.S. could have staged a quick air strike to destroy the drone or, more difficultly, send in special operations forces.

According to ISAF forces, the drone is likely one that disappeared while flying over Western Afghanistan in late November. State television in Iran reported that the drone was shot down when detected in the country’s airspace.

Obama told reporters Monday that the U.S. has asked Iran to return the drone, but acknowledged that the request will not likely be heeded.

Poll: 64% Think Lawmakers Lack Ethics

It appears that a sizable majority of Americans have little faith in the morality of members of Congress.

According to a new Gallup poll, 64 percent of Americans rate the “honesty and ethical standards” of lawmakers as very low or low. In contrast only 7 percent would rate them as very high or high. 27 percent responded that they would rate them as “average.”

The poll showed that Americans hold more trust in the moral practices of bankers, labor union leers, ad executives, telemarketers and care salesmen. Only lobbyists come close to being similarly disparaged, with 62 percent of respondents rating them poorly on moral issues.

The poll was conducted among 1,012 adults between November 28th and December 1st. It was released Monday.

Troop Levels Down To 9,500 In Iraq

There are only 9,500 U.S. troops currently in Iraq, the Defense Department announced Monday.

The number is a sharp decrease from the 40,000 troops that were stationed in the country when President Barack Obama announced plans to withdraw all U.S. troops in late October.

All U.S. combat troops are scheduled to be out of the country by January 1^st, marking the end of nearly 9 years of military involvement.