Barack Obama
AP
Mitt Romney leads President Barack Obama by a single point in today's Public Policy Polling daily tracking survey, but the numbers inside the poll display a clearly worse picture for the president.
Romney's one-point lead is a slight increase from Saturday, when the candidates were tied. But a deep dive into the numbers paint the picture of a president whose approval is on the decline and is struggling to pick up votes with Independents.
Consider the following numbers:
  • Obama's approval-to-disapproval rating sits at just 44-52, which is actually worse than Gallup's tracking on Saturday.
  • Obama is losing the favorability battle, which has been a key strength for him throughout the campaign. His favorable-to-unfavorable rating sits underwater at 46-50. 
  • Romney's favorable rating, on the other hand, is a positive 49-45.
  • Romney leads the self-identified Independent vote by an astounding 16 points. Among this crucial group, Obama's approval-to-disapproval is 33-60, and Romney's favorability is 53-37.
These numbers are not a drastic one-day change from Saturday — Obama has been losing Independents by double digits for the past five days of PPP tracking, and his approval with them has been well underwater, too.