With the November 2012 elections just over 14 months away, there's more poll data suggesting possible trouble for President Obama and more numbers showing a real surge by Texas Gov. Rick Perry on the Republican side.
The Gallup daily tracking numbers for President Obama's job approval rating reached new lows on Monday, with a 38% approval and 55% disapproval rating - a minus-17 spread.
In late July, those numbers were even; in early July, Mr. Obama's approval ratings were slightly better. Since then, he's gone 18 points the wrong way.
Now with 62 weeks until the election next year, let's not take the leap of saying that just because his poll numbers are bad, then Barack Obama won't be re-elected as President.
But when a President starts getting into the 30's for job approval surveys, this is a piece of evidence that should not be ignored.
Meanwhile, over on the Republican side, there is more evidence of a polling surge by Gov. Rick Perry, as a new CNN poll had Perry almost doubling up on long time GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney.
Are we at the point that the term "frontrunner" needs to apply soon to Perry? We should probably wait to get through the three debates set for next month before saying that.
But it does raise questions about Romney's candidacy, and whether Republicans may have found someone who could push the former Massachusetts Governor aside.
We'll get a better sense of the Romney-Perry dynamic today in San Antonio, when Romney speaks at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention.
It won't really matter what Romney says to the group today, unless he tries to attack Perry - it just matters that he is going to be in the Lone Star State, Perry's home turf.
Perry vs Romney has certainly become the main event in just the last two weeks on the Republican side.
There's still 62 weeks to go.
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