Somewhere Bob McDonnell, Chris Christie, and Scott Brown are smiling.

PPP’s most recent national survey found that while Obama had a positive approval rating at 48/47, only 33% of voters were more likely to vote for a candidate endorsed by him while 48% said support from Obama would make them less likely to vote for someone. That’s because only 64% of voters who approve of the President say his endorsement would make them more inclined to vote for a candidate, but 91% who disapprove say Obama’s support makes it less likely they would vote for one of his preferred candidates.

To put into perspective the perils of having Obama out on the campaign trail, consider the numbers in his home state of Illinois. Even there just 26% of voters say they’d be more inclined to back an Obama endorsed candidate while 40% say his support would be more likely to turn them against a candidate. It’s another example where the intensity of feeling about Obama is much stronger on the GOP side- 80% of Republicans say they’re less likely to vote for someone with the President’s support while only 49% of Democrats say they’re more likely to. If Obama’s support isn’t a net positive in Illinois it’s hard to know where he should be deployed.

Isn’t this true of any president whose approval is stuck in the mid- to high 40s? Everyone in the opposing party will hate him but only a segment of his own party will passionately love him. As long as Obama’s treading water in terms of popularity, he’ll be limited to endorsing Democrats in purple districts who need strong support from the demographics that turned out heavily for him in 2008, i.e. young adults and minorities. Short of that, at this point, what can he really do for anyone? The oil spill will be hanging over his head for months, Iran is openly taunting him about its nuclear program, and the GOP’s ready to hang ObamaCare around the neck of every Democratic incumbent in the country. One more piece of bad news politically — and by “bad news,” I’m including egregious examples of Obama flagrantly scorning public opinion — and even the Dems who need his base to win will tell him to stay home, just because they can’t afford to bleed any votes from the growing number of people who have lost faith in him.

Speaking of which, here’s Stewart’s latest attack on Obama (the third in as many nights, IIRC) hitting him for substituting “plans of action” for, you know, actual action. Remember a few years ago when The One’s careful, deliberative, calculating manner was a big plus in his favor? Not so much anymore. But then, I also remember a time when his oratory was a big plus in his favor, and now I’m being told that words don’t matter so much because he’s a man who knows how to get things done. It just might take him a really, really long time.