If Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was hoping for a jump in the polls due to the release of Friday's disappointing jobs numbers, it doesn't look like he's going to get it. According to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, Barack Obama has widened his slim lead over Mitt Romney, to a four percentage point lead over his Republican challenger.
Forty-seven percent of 1,457 likely voters surveyed online said they would vote for Obama if the November 6 elections were held today, compared with 43 percent for Romney.
Whereas Mitt Romney and the Republicans received little to no post-convention "bump" in the polls, the Obama campaign seems to have come out of Charlotte with some wind at its back. Although former President Bill Clinton delivered a powerful convention address which was well received by both Republicans and Democrats alike, President Obama's speech had more tepid reviews, which Republicans had hoped would hurt him in the polls. But Obama's speech seems to have had little impact on voters.
According to the poll, Obama has increased his lead over Romney in certain characteristics: On which candidate is more "eloquent," 50 percent favored Obama (compared to 25 percent for Romney); on who is "smart enough for the job," 46 percent sided with Obama compared to 37 percent for Romne; on "represents America," Obama also led.
A similar poll conducted by Gallup confirms Romney's dip in the polls, showing Obama ahead 49% to 44%.
Politico reports that even Romney's closest advisers admit in private that he has a tougher path to winning. Although they were plesantly surprised by Obama's poor debate performance, they also say they are worried that on state-by-state polling numbers, Obama remains ahead. "Our problems are Virginia, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire. Our opportunities are Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado," said a Romney official.
Of course, all polls must be taken with a grain of salt, and the Romney campaign has vowed to continue to fight on. According to Stuart Stevens, Romney's campaign strategist, "We're a very patient campaign. We're the campaign that couldn't break 25 percent [in the primaries]. We just have tremendous confidence in the governor's ability to talk to people in a way that resonates. Very steady, very confident."
