Obama’s job ratings are dismal here. Half of the state’s voters disapprove strongly of Obama’s performance and another 8 percent disapprove “somewhat.” About a third approve of the job he’s doing (13 percent strongly), 7 percent are neutral and only 1 percent register no opinion.

A majority — 52 percent — answer correctly that the nation’s chief executive is a Christian, but 29 percent believe he’s a Muslim, and 14 percent say they don’t know his religious affiliation…

On the Republican side, more candidate names are in the speculative hat and voters sort them this way: former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, 20 percent; former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, 15 percent; former Govs. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, tied at 13 percent; U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, 8 percent; Texas Gov. Rick Perry, 7 percent; former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 3 percent; Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, 2 percent; and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, 1 percent. The candidate named “Don’t Know” got 19 percent — almost enough to top the list. Perry has said repeatedly that he’s not interested in running for national office; if he changes his mind, he’ll have to do better than sixth in a poll in his home state to win serious attention.