The White House is like a sinking ship these days, and a lot of rats are taking a dive. In the last month or so, top economic advisers Larry Summers, Christina Romer, and Peter Orszag have all either left or announced their departures. Next up is probably Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who’d like to put his knife-wielding skills to better use as Mayor of Chicago. There have been whispers that other high-level advisers are looking for a way out of the hellhole as well.

Obama’s top political strategist, David Axelrod, told Fox News last week that he’d stay on into next year but that “at some point, I’ll leave to work on re-elect.”

As in: back to the campaign. As if they ever left it.

Re-elect Obama? Even the mere idea of it leaves most Americans exhausted and upset. He has been such an epic disaster on everything from the economy to unemployment to spending to taxes to our foreign policy that most Americans already want a change from the “change” guy.

A new Politico/George Washington University Battleground poll released today shows that only a mere 38% think he deserves re-election. Forty-four percent said they’d definitely vote for someone else, and 13% said they’d at least consider it. Not good for a guy who won just 2 years ago with 53% of the vote. Independents are fleeing from him like he’s got bedbugs. Many Democrats just shrug in disappointment.

I’m not entirely convinced that he’s going to run again. I don’t think he digs the job. But if he does run, Axelrod is going to have his work cut out for him on “re-elect.”

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