Romney pulling past Obama in new polls
presidential race has turned into a thrillaminute rollercoaster ride as Mitt Romney reportedly thrown a lifeline by his wife and son coasts past Barack Obama in a trio of public opinion polls.
Romney's decisive thrashing of the president in last week's first debate, and his step to the centre of the political spectrum, has propelled him past Obama nationally in three new polls.
A Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday had Romney with 49 per cent support of respondents, compared with 47 per cent for Obama. Those findings followed a Pew Research Center survey that showed Romney at 49 per cent and Obama at 45 per north face coupon codes cent.
In Gallup's first national survey of likely voters not registered voters of the 2012 race, Romney was two percentage points ahead of Obama at 49 to 47. Among registered voters, Obama had a 4946 edge, according to the poll released Tuesday.
Romney's moment in the sun comes less than a week after Obama was building a comfortable lead against his Republican rival in the same polls, particularly in critical battleground states.
What a difference a bad debate for Obama and a Romney family intervention seems to be making.
Ann and Tagg Romney are reportedly the brains behind the north face outlet berkeley ca new and improved candidate.
The family pushed for a "softer and more moderate image" for Romney, one that "more accurately reflected the looser, generous and more approachable man they knew," Politico reported.
The Romneys blamed the Republican nominee's chief strategist, Stuart Stevens, for a wildly careening campaign. Tagg Romney is now apparently in the driver's seat four weeks before the Nov. 7 vote.
Stevens had already lost one battle to the Romneys. He was opposed to the candidate delivering a highprofile speech earlier this week on foreign policy, arguing that Americans care primarily about jobs and the economy.
The Obama campaign, meantime, is putting on a brave face.
"We've always felt this race would be close," Jen Psaki, Obama's travelling press secretary, told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to the key swing state of Ohio.
"We know that there are going to be many ups and downs. We're implementing our own game plan. We're focused on getting our supporters out, communicating the choice, and we'll sleep on Nov. 7th, not Oct. 7th."
But even the affable Big Bird wouldn't lend the president a helping hand on Tuesday.
Team Obama released a new TV ad that mocked Romney for proposing cutting PBS's funding while going easy on Wall Street. The spot portrays the beloved Big Bird as the sinister criminal mastermind responsible for an array of financial scandals.
But Sesame Street didn't find it terribly funny, and asked the Obama campaign to take the ad down.
"Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns," the show said in a statement.
"We have approved no campaign ads, and as is our general practice, have requested that the ad be taken down."
Romney ridiculed the president for the ad in a campaign stop in Iowa.
"You have to scratch your head when the president spends the last week talking about saving Big Bird," he said. "I actually think we need to have a president who talks about saving the American people and saving good jobs."
Where Big Bird has failed Obama, Joe Biden is hoping to step in as white knight.
The notoriously gaffeprone vicepresident is going toe to toe with Paul Ryan on Thursday night in the only debate between the two running mates.
Democrats say Biden is preparing for his Kentucky showdown with Ryan with vim and vigour amid suddenly high stakes for a debate that ordinarily doesn't get much attention.
Biden aides say he's been poring over video of Ryan speeches and interviews, in addition to reading "Young Guns," a book Ryan cowrote with two other top congressional Republicans. Ryan, however, is largely considered the more skilled debater, and is favoured to win the debate.
White House spokesman Jay Carney, who worked for Biden for two years, said he expected his former boss to defend Obama's record "in a forceful and compelling way."
"The vicepresident is an exceptional spokesman for the principles that are the foundation of the president's policies when it comes to his economic agenda and the need to build our economy from the middle out."