The latest Pew poll found that President Obama now has only a one point lead over a generic Republican candidate, well within the margin of error. From Pew:

This shift is driven by a steep drop-off in support for Obama among independents. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted July 20-24 among 1,501 adults and 1,205 registered voters finds that just 31% of independent voters want to see Obama reelected, down from 42% in May and 40% in March. Where Obama held a slim 7-point edge among independent registered voters two months ago, a generic Republican holds an 8-point edge today.

This is consistent with a drop in Obama’s approval among all independents. Currently, a majority (54%) disapprove of Obama’s performance for the first time in his presidency. His approval among independents has slipped to 36% from 42% last month and 49% in late May.

I wouldn’t be surprised if President Obama’s drop in support among Independents had a lot to do with the recent sharp increase in pessimism about the economy.

The problems the American people want to see solved right now are joblessness and a bad economy. They have not been seeing any improvement in either for a long time.