http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/base_in_the_hole_Vi2ap6WzciDqa77LNBhKrKEven black voters slip from prezNo wonder he's become such good pals with Al Sharpton.
President Obama's approval ratings among black voters plummeted last month to their lowest levels ever, while his support among Hispanics took a tumble in the same period, according to a surprising new poll released yesterday.
Blacks continue to back him by a wide margin, with 85 percent of respondents saying they approved of him in the latest Gallup poll.
But that number dropped a hefty 5 percentage points from last month, marking the lowest rating among that core constituency that he's had since taking office.
SHORING UP: President Obama shakes hands with the Rev. Al Sharpton at the civil-rights leader's National Action Network anniversary celebration in New York on Wednesday.
AP
SHORING UP: President Obama shakes hands with the Rev. Al Sharpton at the civil-rights leader's National Action Network anniversary celebration in New York on Wednesday.
He also dropped 5 points among Hispanics, sliding from 59 percent to 54, according to the poll. That number ties his July and August 2010 lows.
The one-two punch among two groups that helped usher him into the White House comes just after he announced the kickoff of his 2012 election campaign.
It also seems to confirm chatter that the commander-in-chief's sudden affinity for Al Sharpton is an attempt to shore up his African-American base.
Obama -- in the midst of grueling budget talks -- flew up from DC for the 20th anniversary of Sharpton's National Action Network on Wednesday.
At the event, which was studded with African-American luminaries like Bill Cosby, Stevie Wonder and Martin Luther King III, Obama said much hard work still needs to be done on civil rights.
"We are going to keep fighting until every family gets a shot at the American dream," Obama said.
A day after Obama's visit, most attendees at the four-day conference said it was wise for the president to come.
"What could be a better place to shore up his support?" said Paul Thompson, a Brooklyn real-estate broker.
He blamed Obama's sliding poll numbers on mudslinging.
"You have some groups that say controversial things about him and that affected people in the minority groups," said Thompson.
Meanwhile, Fernando Mateo, president of Hispanics Across America, said that Obama seems to have forgotten about Latinos since being elected.
"Until they make Hispanics a priority in the White House or in DC, they [Obama's poll numbers] will continue to drop," said Mateo.
"The immigration issue is a big one. He had the opportunity to create and make changes when he had the House and the Senate, and he did not," he said.
Obama will make a second New York trip later this month.
He'll be here on April 27 for a network of fund-raisers.
A high-roller event will be held at the Manhattan apartment of Jon Corzine, the former New Jersey governor and Goldman Sachs executive.
And a larger fund-raiser is scheduled at a major Midtown Manhattan hotel, a campaign source said. Tickets go for $2,500 per person.
