Basking Ridge: What Do You Think of Sen. Menendez and President Obama?

The Basking Ridge Patch wants to know: What do Bernards Township residents think of Bob Menendez, U.S. Senator for New Jersey? How do you about feel about President Barack Obama's performance in office?

According to the most recent statewide poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind, 31 percent of voters in Menendez's New Jersey constituency have a favorable opinion of him, and 25 percent have an unfavorable opinion. Another 44 percent either are unsure (29 percent) or haven't heard of him at all (15 percent).

A majority of those responding in the poll, just barely at 51 percent, continue to log a favorable view of U.S. President Barack Obama.

Speaking about Menendez, the state's representative in the U.S. Senate, Peter Woolley, a political scientist and director of the poll, said,  "Those are fairly anemic numbers for an energetic guy who has already served nearly six years." 

We'd like to know how you feel. Tell us in the comments below if you think the senator—who is next up for election in 2012—has been serving New Jersey well.

Menendez, a Democrat, was first appointed to the seat in 2005 by then-Gov. Jon Corzine and was elected in November 2006. His seat is up for election in 2012.

Among Democrats, 17 percent say they don't recognize Menendez's name, 26 percent say they are unsure or have no opinion of him, 10 percent have an unfavorable opinion, and 47 percent say their opinion is favorable. By contrast, New Jersey's senior senator, Democrat Frank Lautenberg, rates 42 percent favorable to 31 percent unfavorable among all voters, and among Democrats, 58 percent have a favorable view of the octogenarian, while 12 percent have an unfavorable view.

"When Menendez was elected in 2006, his campaign tapped into the unpopularity of the president and voters' dissatisfaction with the direction of the country," Woolley said. "Next time it will be his Republican opponent who will try to exploit presidential unpopularity and concern over the direction of the country."

In November 2006, just before Menendez's defeat of Republican Tom Kean Jr., the Fairleigh Dickinson University poll showed that New Jersey voters by a margin of two-to-one disapproved of President George W. Bush  (63%-32%) and just 22 percent said the country was headed in the right direction.

For now, President Barack Obama is ahead in the Garden State: With the heat of the midterm elections behind voters, 51 percent approve of the president and 40 percent disapprove, up from 47-43 percent in October's run-up to the mid-term elections.

Where do you stand on the president? Again, let us know in the comments.

However, 58 percent say the country is on the wrong track, compared to just 31 percent who say it is headed in the right direction. Men and women agree the country is on the wrong track, and Democrats split on the question 47-42 percent.

 "When voters are dissatisfied with the direction of the country, it is incumbents who get the blame," Woolley said. "I know at least two Democrats who are hoping that dissatisfaction will abate a little before the next national election in 2012."

The Fairleigh Dickinson University poll of 804 registered voters statewide was conducted by telephone from Nov. 15 through Nov. 21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

So, how are Menendez and Obama doing?