HAPPILY, WE'RE GOING TO NOMINATE A GENERIC REPUBLICAN:

2012 Voter Preferences for Obama, "Republican" Remain Close: Forty-four percent prefer the Republican; 39%, Obama (Jeffrey M. Jones, 6/17/11, Gallup)

Forty-four percent of registered voters say they are more likely to vote for "the Republican Party's candidate" and 39% for Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election, according to Gallup's June update. The current five-percentage-point edge for the generic Republican is not a statistically significant lead, and neither side has held a meaningful lead at any point thus far in 2011.

Follow @brothersjudd