Generic Republican 2012!

Not sure if a real Republican can fare as well, but right now the Generic version is pretty handily beating Obama (from Rasmussen):

A generic Republican candidate earns the highest level of support yet against President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election matchup.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters finds that the generic Republican picks 48% of the vote, while the president gets 43% support. Three percent (3%) favor some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Last week, the incumbent and the generic Republican candidate were tied, each earning 44% support. The GOP candidate has now outpolled the president in seven-of-10 surveys conducted weekly since early May. Prior to this survey, the Republican has earned 43% to 46% of the vote, while support for the president has ranged from 42% to 45%. Rasmussen Reports will provide new data on this generic matchup each week until the field of prospective Republican nominees narrows to a few serious contenders.

Republicans hold a six-point advantage on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, July 10. Republicans have led on the ballot for every week since June 2009, with leads ranging from two to 12 points.

Jim Geraghty reminds us why we shouldn't get too excited about the Generic Republican:

Generic Republican: Never tied to scandal, never breaking a campaign promise, and never letting you down. Generic Republican never voted for TARP, or the stimulus, or Obamacare, or cap-and-trade, or any other big-spending program. 

Unfortunately, real Republicans come with flaws, some of which are not only unappealing to moderates, but unappealing to conservatives, and whoever the nominee turns out to be, he or she must be able to rally more than just a small part of the base.