The Hill News

More Americans say that President Obama doesn't deserve a second term in 2012, a new poll found Monday.

Americans were virtually split over whether the president should be reelected in two years, with opponents of Obama slightly edging supporters.

Forty-five percent of U.S. adults said in a Bloomberg National Poll released on Monday that Obama deserves to be beat in 2012. Forty-two percent said the president deserves reelection, while four percent said that their decision depended on alternatives. Nine percent were unsure.

The poll underscores the precarious political situation the administration faces going into the bottom half of Obama's first term in office. The president's approval rating has teetered into positive and negative territory since July, and he's only going to face more stiff! GOP opposition once the Republican-controlled House is sworn into power in January.

For potential Republican challengers to Obama, the poll numbers might demonstrate an opportunity that would be tough to pass up for many would-be GOP contenders for the nomination.

The Bloomberg poll, conducted Dec. 4-7, has a 3.1 percent margin of error.