Polls: Obama’s approval rating weakens but he remains strong versus Santorum, Romney

Today’s update of the Gallup tracking poll of Barack Obama’s job approval shows the president’s fluctuating numbers have dropped by a marginal point to 43 percent.

The polling agency says such numbers place Obama “on the low end of the range of approval levels at which modern presidents have been re-elected, similar to George W. Bush's 48% approval from late October 2004.”

The Gallup numbers are markedly more somber for the president than the results of a Rasmussen Reports poll completed yesterday which puts the president’s approval at 50 percent.

More from GlobalPost: Obama's approval ratings drop (VIDEO)

Nevertheless, with the long knockdown-dragout of this season’s Republican nominating contest showing no signs of nearing a conclusion, the president has continued to strengthen his position against his main Republican challengers even though his own approval rating is relatively low for the moment.

A RealClearPolitics average today puts Obama at 4.9 percent ahead of Mitt Romney — this draws on polls completed yesterday by Rasmussen and Fox News — with the president scoring 48.5 percent to Romney’s 43.6 percent.

The president’s lead widens when he is compared to Rick Santorum, according to RealClearPolitics, which averages recent polls to put the president nine points above the former Pennsylvania senator.

More from GlobalPost: Promises, pitfalls await investors in Burma’s frontier economy

There are 234 days until the general election is held on Nov 6 and, according to the Tribune Comppany’s Washington Bureau, the Obama campaign is already a well-oiled machine.

The campaign has staff in every state and maintains 15 field offices in Florida and ten each in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Campaign HQ occupy 50,000 square feet in an office high rise in Chicago.