Obama opens up six-point lead over Romney in poll
Barack Obama has opened up a six-point lead over his nearest rival, helped by the recovering US economy, falling unemployment and negative reaction to the Republican primary contest, a poll has shown.
If the presidential election was held now, Mr Obama would win 51pc of votes, ahead of 45pc for Mitt Romney, the Republican front-runner, according to the ABC/'Washington Post' survey.
It is the first time that any contender has broken the 50 per cent barrier in months. "I deserve a second term, but I am not done," said Mr Obama. "We've created 3.7 million jobs in the last 23 months. We've created the most jobs since 2005, the most manufacturing jobs since 1990, but we're not finished."
Mr Romney leads the Republican field after winning the Nevada caucuses over the weekend with 50pc of the vote, but the poll showed that the former management consultant was still failing to connect with ordinary voters.
Mr Romney appears to have been damaged by being forced to disclose that he paid 14 per cent tax on his income of $22m (€17m) in 2010, with 66pc of voters polled saying they believed he was "not paying his fair share".
Fairness has been a central message of Mr Obama's election platform, promising to raise taxes on millionaires such as Mr Romney, who last week handed his detractors further ammunition after saying he was "not concerned" about the poor. Many independent voters in swing states remain undecided.
While Republicans have dismissed Mr Obama's policies as class warfare, the poll showed that 72pc of voters, including many Republicans, favoured raising taxes on millionaires.
Polls also claim that Mr Romney is failing to shake off the tag of elitism, with 53pc saying they felt Mr Obama understood the economic problems of ordinary voters, compared with 36pc for Mr Romney.
Despite his weaker showing among the broader electorate, Mr Romney remains the favourite to claim the Republican nomination for November's election, as the primary races move to Colorado. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Peter Foster in Washington
Irish Independent
