Michael Barbaro has a smart piece on the front page of The Times today that looks at the ways that President Barack Obama is dragging down David Weprin’s efforts to beat Bob Turner in the special election to replace Anthony Weiner in Congress.

One thing Barbaro didn’t touch on however is that the Siena poll which showed Turner narrowly trailing Weprin also showed Obama with a negative approval rating in the district. According to Siena, 52 percent of voters haven an unfavorable opinion of the president, and only 45 percent have a positive opinion of Obama. People close to the Weprin campaign told The Politicker that these were the reverse from the numbers that they had internally, and there was a belief this explained the drag on Weprin’s numbers.

The Siena poll was taken right in the middle of the debt ceiling debate however, and Weprin aides hoped that it was merely a temporary lull. In the meantime however, other than laying low, Obama hasn’t done all that much to improving his standing, stealing away to Martha’s Vineyard for a ten-day vacation.

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