Obama Beats Palin In South Carolina

President Barack Obama leads Sarah Palin 47%-41% in South Carolina. In fact, he leads Newt Gingrich too, but by only 1% (44%-43%). He trails Mitt Romney (49%-42%) and Mike Huckabee (49%-43%), however is doing better than he did in 2008 there.

Ezra Klein asks a question I have been asking myself: Is the President's strong polling keeping candidates out of the 2012 race so far? It's worth asking because four years ago at this time, every serious candidate for President was in- Obama, Clinton, McCain, Romney, and Huckabee included. Are they waiting to see where the race is in late spring. At what point does the lack of a strong candidate become a GOP embarrassment?