Obama continues to lead 2012 polls

The series of presidential polls by PPP in single states and nationwide continue to show that President Barack Obama is in good position although it still quite early.

The most recent polls show Republican hopefuls trailing Obama in Maine and Ohio and also in a nationwide poll released on March 16.  Other nationwide surveys conducted by other polling agencies tend to agree with the PPP results.

Still very early to say whether Obama can help pull up other Democratic candidates including those running for Congress.  The approval ratings for Congress are still very low and this could translate into Democrats retaking the House but losing the Senate. 

The reasoning is fairly simple as there are more GOP incumbents in the House but more Democrats up for reelection in the Senate.  If the "kick the bums out" attitude prevails that might lead to a switch in leadership in each chamber of Congress.

Democrats can hope that Obama's coattails will help them keep hold of Senate while winning back the House.  The president enjoys much higher approval ratings as compared with those in Congress. The RealClearPolitics average of polls gives Obama a 49.1 percent approval as compared to 46.1 disapproval rating.  He has a positive approval rating in seven of the last eight polls and is above 50 percent approval in four of the polls.