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Braddock: Perry Among Those Deadlocked With Obama

AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) - President Obama's handling of the economy seems to be at the heart of why all the "top-tier" Republicans in the race for the White House, including Gov. Perry, would be essentially tied with him if the election were held today.  That's a long way to say Mr. Obama's real opponent  appears to be the way Americans perceive the economy.   Even shorter:  If the economy's bad, any one of four Republicans has a shot at winning the White House.

Perry is essentially tied with President Obama in this poll.  So are Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Ron Paul.  It seems what's happening here is people are evenly divided between President Obama and any of these four Republican candidates.  But, that doesn't mean the question of which one wins the nomination is irrelevant.  (Some have suggested President Obama will lose his bid for re-election regardless of who he faces next fall.)

For some expertise on what the Gallup Poll really means, I decided to invite James Henson into the Austin Bureau today.  He directs the Texas Politics Project at The University of Texas at Austin.

AUDIO: Braddock & James Henson

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