NBC/WSJ poll: "Obama is no longer the favorite to win re-election"

A new poll from NBC/WSJ is chock full of data that is pretty bad for everyone, Ds and Rs.

People want the super-committee to increase taxes and leave Medicare alone:

In the poll, 60 percent say it would be acceptable if the "super committee" considers reducing the deficit by ending the so-called Bush tax cuts for families earning $250,000 or more per year. Moreover, 56 percent say it would be acceptable if it considers reducing the deficit by a combination of tax increases and spending cuts.

By comparison, just 37 percent believe it’s acceptable for the committee to reduce the deficit by only cutting spending and not raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy. And only 20 percent say it’s acceptable to lower the deficit by reducing spending on Medicare.

Now keep in mind that in the past, high poll numbers - the public option (70% support) and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (80% support) come to mind - did not necessarily translate into an increased push by the President for those popular items.

In terms of 2012, while Obama still beats the GOP presidential candidates, he now loses to a generic GOP presidential candidate:

What's more, in a hypothetical general election contest, Obama leads Texas Gov. Rick Perry by five points, 47 percent to 42 percent. And he leads former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by one, 46 percent to 45 percent, though that margin is down five points since June.

But for the first time in the poll, more say they'd probably vote for a generic Republican candidate (44 percent) than say they'd probably vote for Obama (40 percent).

"Obama is no longer the favorite to win re-election," Hart said, explaining that a head-to-head score will usually conform to the generic one, especially when so many believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

There's lots more in the poll, and it's bad for the President and Congress, Ds and Rs (though Obama does have high ratings on likeability, fighting terrorism, and foreign policy).

It seems that Republican intransigence, alongside our growing economic disaster, is having a predictable "plague o' both your houses" reaction from the public. I say predictable because I don't think the public would blame Democrats nearly as much for our current ills if the President would simply start pointing more fingers.