http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1210/46474.html Poll: Obama leads in '12 matchups By: Jennifer Epstein December 16, 2010 08:04 AM EST President Barack Obama faces an unsure but still supportive electorate heading into the 2012 campaign, a new poll suggests. In the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released late Wednesday, 42 percent of Americans said they would probably vote to reelect the president, while 39 percent said they would vote for a generic Republican candidate. Matched up with specific Republican presidential hopefuls, Obama does better. If Mitt Romney were the Republican candidate, 47 percent of respondents said they would vote for Obama, while 40 percent said they would vote for the former Massachusetts governor. Other potential 2012 candidates get less support. Pitted against former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Obama gets 55 percent of the vote while Palin gets 33 percent. And 47 percent said they would vote for Obama against Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), while 27 percent said theyâd vote for Thune. At about the same point in his first term, former president George W. Bush had the support of 45 percent of those surveyed, while 31 percent said they would probably vote for a Democrat running against him.