JIM RUTENBERG & MARJORIE CONNELLY Despite improving job growth and an extended Republican primary fight dividing his would-be opponents,President Barack Obama is heading into the general election season on treacherous political ground,according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. At a time of rising gas prices,heightened talk of war with Iran and setbacks in Afghanistan,Obamas approval rating dropped substantially in recent weeks,the poll found,with 41 per cent of respondents expressing approval of the job he is doing and 47 per cent saying they disapprove a dangerous position for any incumbent seeking re-election. Obamas approval numbers measure his performance against expectations. But elections are choices between candidates,and on that score,he showed greater resilience in the poll. In a hypothetical matchup against his most likely Republican opponent,Mitt Romney,Obama had a 47 per cent to 44 per cent advantage,a statistical dead heat given the polls margin of sampling error of 3 percentage points. Against Rick Santorum,the president drew 48 per cent compared with 44 per cent. In both cases,the difference between the candidates was slightly smaller than it was last month.
