Obama Pulls Away From Romney in National Poll
The president seen in an increasingly favorable light, but the GOP front-runner viewed as stronger on the economy.
| Posted Monday, Feb. 6, 2012, at 10:26 AM
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President Obama has opened up a clear lead against current GOP front-runner Mitt Romney in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll out Monday.
Among all Americans, Obama leads Romney by nearly double digits, 52 percent to 43. That's the first time that Obama has broken through the 50-percent ceiling in a match-up with Romney among all Americans since last summer, when he led 51 percent to 44. Among only registered voters, the president's lead shrinks slightly, but the survey shows he nonetheless is out in front by six points, 51 percent to 45.
More good news for Obama: His net favorability rating was in the positive for the first time in 2012, with 50 percent saying they approve of his job performance to 46 percent saying they did not. That's up from a 48-48 split in last month's poll, and a marked improvement from most of his monthly numbers in the final months of 2011, including in October when only 42 percent of Americans said they approved compared with 54 percent who did not.
Romney, meanwhile, fared better than the man he hopes to beat in November when respondents were asked whom they trust to do a better job of handling the economy, with 48 percent of Americans picking the former Massachusetts governor, 3 percent more than chose Obama. Romney also fared better on job creation (47-45) and on handling the federal budget and deficit (51-41). Plenty more numbers here. You can check out the Post's full write-up here.
