Poll: Obama handily beats Palin

NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- If President Obama were to face former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the 2012 presidential election, Obama would be re-elected by a landslide, a poll says.

A Wall Street Journal-NBC poll conducted Dec. 9-13 indicates Obama leads the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate by 22 percentage points.

In the poll, 55 percent said they would back Obama while 33 percent voiced support for Palin.

Obama's lead over Palin apparently is growing. He led Palin by 12 points in a hypothetical 2012 match up by McClatchy-Marist conducted in early December.

The WSJ-NBC poll indicated Obama has a 20-point lead over Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., who is also considering a bid for the GOP presidential nomination.

The poll indicated Obama has a 7-point lead over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who also may be gearing up for a bid.

The WSJ-NBC poll said one reason Palin doesn't do as well as others in the mythical presidential race is her negative rating, which is now at 50 percent.

The survey indicated in a showdown with an unnamed GOP challenger, 42 percent said they would vote for Obama in 2012, with 39 percent voting for the Republican.

A Bloomberg National Poll conducted earlier in December said 42 percent would vote to re-elect Obama while 45 percent said he doesn't deserve another term.

The WSJ-NBC poll questioned 1,000 people by telephone; it has a sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.