Opinion polls can be very misleading because they tell us how people feel at any given moment. Today, people may believe that President Obama is doing a terrible job and that he shouldn't be re-elected because the European debt crisis is on the front burner, and he's viewed as ineffectual. Tomorrow, we may have a major national security event, either real or manufactured, and he could be seen as a great leader who deserves four more years.　

It pays to take polling data with a grain of salt. For instance, recent polls reveal that only 43% of us agree with the views of Occupy Wall Street -- whatever they are. A few days ago, another poll showed that 56% of Americans don't have an opinion about OWS, pro or con, and that 59% of us don't know enough about OWS to form an opinion.　Even so, I suspect that typical Americans will form a negative opinion about OWS as protesters are forced to depart their shanties and in their wake they leave mountains of trash.　 In Los Angeles, they left behind 30 tons of garbage that had to be removed at taxpayers' expense.　 That's happening all across America, and since OWS is seen by thinking people as an offshoot of the Democratic Party and its union loyalists, the negative repercussions for Democrats should be obvious. But by November 2012, OWS may be little more than a distant memory -- albeit an unpleasant one.

One thing seems certain: most Americans don't like Obamacare.　 A recent survey by left-leaning Kaiser Health Tracking poll revealed that 29% of us a have a very unfavorable opinion about Obamacare; 44% of us view Obamacare unfavorably; 37% of us have a favorable opinion about Obamacare; and only 17% of us have a very favorable opinion about Obamacare. Those results don't bode well for President Obama, and his comment yesterday that he needs to be re-elected so he can complete implementation of Obamacare by 2014 may lead some people to believe that the president can't win in 2012 no matter what. That's a dangerous conclusion because it's based on opinions that change over time.

Today, Gallup released a poll showing President Obama's overall approval rating during November at just 43%. That's lower than any president in modern history except Jimmy Carter.　 He had a 40% approval rating at this stage in his presidency. Other recent polls show that the president's approval rating on foreign policy issues is good and getting better and that his approval rating on economic policy issues is bad and getting worse. Judging by these polls it's impossible to tell what might happen in November 2012 because we don't know what THE critical issue will be when voters cast their ballots.　 Since opinions change, President Obama could look much better or much worse on any given issue 11 months from now.

In faceoffs against Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, President Obama looks very good according to polling date, but that can change, too. Again, it pays to be very careful when you are tempted to form conclusions based on polling data at this stage in the election cycle, but we do know one thing for sure. Anyone who opposes Barack Obama will be called a racist.　

Staunch Obama supporters believe that name-calling is the secret weapon that will bring them victory in 2012, and why not? It worked in 2008. They will call you a racist or anti-science or backward or a Neanderthal or worse. Unfortunately, that strategy works on some people since no one wants to be vilified.　

True Obama supporters will never relent. He's their man no matter what, and since they don't know what the polling data will show in November 2012 any better than we do, they will rely on the one thing that they know will work -- name-calling. People who oppose President Obama's re-election should prepare for a vicious battle during which they will be maligned in the most personal ways possible.　 Will it work? It depends on our resolve.

Neil Snyder is a chaired professor emeritus at the University of Virginia.His blog, SnyderTalk.com, is posted daily. His latest book is titled　If You Voted for Obama in 2008 to Prove You're Not a Racist, You Need to Vote for Someone Else in 2012 to Prove You're Not an Idiot.