2008 Obama supporters desert him in droves to vote GOP

With just two weeks before mid-term elections, voters who supported Barack Obama in 2008 are deserting the President in droves to vote Republican, a new poll has shown.

The Associated Press survey found that the coalition of voters that swept Mr Obama into the White House just two years ago - aching for change after the eight-year presidency of Republican George W. Bush - has crumbled.

With Mr Obama not on the ballot again until 2012, dispirited supporters are unlikely to hold back a growing Republican and conservative tea party tide.

Blamed for the still struggling economy and near 10 per cent unemployment, Mr Obama's Democrats have a scant chance of keeping their majority hold on the House of Representatives, where all 435 seats are on the ballot.

Republicans also are expected to make significant gains against the Democrat majority in the Senate, where 37 of 100 seats are up for grabs.

The Associated Press-Knowledge Networks survey found that one-fourth of those who voted for Obama two years ago are defecting to the Republicans or considering voting against the party in power in the November 2 election.

Many in that number say their switch is more a symbol of anger at the Democrat than a vote in support of the Republicans.

Fight: Mr Obama with Deval Patrick in Boston yesterday. The U.S. President's popularity is also plunging as voters blame him for the economy and over healthcare

Significantly and in a sign of fundamental voter dissatisfaction with both parties, just as many people who backed Republican presidential nominee John McCain are either supporting Democrats now or still considering how to vote.

The problem for Democrats is that just half of Mr Obama's supporters in the 2008 race say they definitely will show up to vote on November 2, according to the poll.

At the same time, the poll found that two-thirds of McCain supporters say they are certain to vote.

It's a wide enthusiasm gap that's buoying Republicans, who are poised for big electoral gains.

And it is worrying Democrats, who are seeking to hang onto majorities in Congress as well among goveors.

Mr Obama's party hopes its superior get-out-the-vote operation, updated from his groundbreaking campaign, can overcome Republicans' energized supporters to mitigate expected losses across the board.

Secret weapon: Michelle Obama, shown here campaigning in Wisconsin last week, has a higher popularity rating than her husband - but even her credibility is not enough

Regardless, the President is campaigning coast to coast, raising money for candidates and looking to energize Democratic voters.

But the he acknowledges that even in the most reliably liberal states, no Democratic candidate is guaranteed victory.

Mr Obama appeared Saturday afteoon before a crowd of 10,000 at an energetic Boston rally for Massachusetts Goveor Deval Patrick, a longtime friend and political ally.

Republicans have tried to use Mr Patrick's close relationship with the president as a campaign wedge against the incumbent seeking a second term.

'There is no doubt that this a difficult election. That's because we've been through an incredibly difficult time as a nation,' Mr Obama told the rally.

He acknowledged that the hope and energy he stirred during his 2008 presidential campaign may have faded in the face of the grinding economic crisis.

'I need all of you to be clear,' he told the crowd, 'over the next two weeks this election is a choice and the stakes could not be higher.'

First Lady Michelle Obama was campaigning together with her husband for the first time since the 2008 race on Sunday in Ohio to support Goveor Ted Strickland and raise money for the Democratic National Committee.

For the little guy: Sarah Palin at a rally in Anaheim, Califoia yesterday. Though she is not on the ballot, she has rallied voters to the Tea Party cause

Their day was set to end in Columbus at a large, nighttime rally on the campus of Ohio State University aimed at firing up the young Democrats and first-time voters who helped Mr Obama carry Ohio on his way to the White House in 2008.

The country is locked in a nasty, partisan atmosphere that forced Mr Obama, even with large majorities in both houses of congress, to need to wage extended battles to win passage of two key legislative goals - health care and financial regulatory reform.

Losing the Democratic dominance in the House would likely cripple Mr Obama's ability to implement the remainder of his agenda in the two years remaining in his term.

Mr Obama sought to frame the election as a choice between his policies, which he says are moving the country forward, and those of the Republican, who he says want to retu to the policies of the past.

'The worst thing we could do is go back to a philosophy that nearly destroyed our economy,' Mr Obama said.

In an appearance in Califoia, former Alaska Goveor Sarah Palin urged a crowd of Republicans on Saturday to exhaust themselves over the next two weeks to retake power in Califoia and the country for the 'little guy'.

The former vice presidential candidate addressed more than 2,000 supporters at a Republican National Committee rally in Orange County, a conservative stronghold in a state where Republicans hope to make gains this year.

'The momentum is with us but now is not the time to let up, now is not the time to celebrate - not quite yet,' Mrs Palin told a crowd wearing T-shirts reading 'Proud Conservative' and buttons reading 'Is it 2012 yet?'

Mrs Palin, while on no ballot in this election, has become a major force in rallying support for ultraconservative tea party and Republican candidates.

To find out how the electorate's political views have changed since the 2008 election, the AP and Knowledge Networks re-interviewed the same 1,254 people who were part of a random sample of Americans surveyed up to 11 times throughout the 2008 campaign by the two organizations and Yahoo News.

The recent interviews occurred September 17 to October 7.

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