Romney Gets a Bump in the Polls
As many a politician has reminded us, the only poll that matters is the one that they take on election day. Still, Republican candidate Mitt Romney must be feeling encouraged by what he saw in yesterday and today's poll numbers. For example, today these results were released:
Rasmussen: Romney 49%, Obama 47%
Gravis Marketing-Colorado: Romney 49%, Obama 46%
and yesterday:
Rasmussen-Florida: Romney-49%, Obama-47%
WeAskAmerica-Florida: Romney-49%, Obama-46%
Rasmussen-Virginia: Romney-49%, Obama-48%
WeAskAmerica-Virginia: Romney-48%, Obama-45%
Rasmussen-Ohio: Obama-50%, Romney-49%
WeAskAmerica-Ohio: Romney-47%, Obama-46%
McLachlan/ACU-Nevada: Obama-49%, Romney-48%
A Gallup poll released today has the President ahead nationwide 49% to 46%. RealClearPolitics has moved Ohio out of the Obama column and back into the undecided.
To quote CNN's venerable pundit David Gergen: "Before the first presidential debate, voters were telling CNN by nearly a 2-1 margin that they expected an Obama victory. Many commentators were ready to hold a coronation for the president. Now, by more than a 2-1 margin, voters who watched the debate are saying that Mitt Romney won it -- and we have a horse race on our hands."
President Obama received a break though, in the form of the release of Department of Labour data that shows that the unemployment rate has dropped to 7.8%, falling below 8% for the first time since President Obama's inauguration.
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric Co., caused controversy when he suggested on Twitter that the Obama administration had manipulated the numbers. He tweeted "Unbelievable jobs numbers. These Chicago guys will do anything. Can't debate so change numbers." He later said in an interview, "I wasn't kidding." But Keith Hall, who served as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2008 until 2012, said in an interview Friday that there is no way someone at the agency could change any of the data in its two monthly employment surveys. The significant improvement in the unemployment rate may reflect normal statistical errors in the sampling process, he said, but that has nothing to do with manipulation.
Governor Romney dismissed Friday's jobs report as insufficient progress. He told supporters at a rally in Abingdon, Va., that the unemployment rate has inched downward "very, very slowly." He added "The truth is, if the same share of people were participating in the workforce today as on the day the president got elected, our unemployment rate would be around 11%. That's the real reality of what's happening out there."
This is going to be a very interesting and a very exciting month. I agree with David Gergen on this one, we are indeed in for a horse race with a close finish.
Rasmussen: Romney 49%, Obama 47%
Gravis Marketing-Colorado: Romney 49%, Obama 46%
and yesterday:
Rasmussen-Florida: Romney-49%, Obama-47%
WeAskAmerica-Florida: Romney-49%, Obama-46%
Rasmussen-Virginia: Romney-49%, Obama-48%
WeAskAmerica-Virginia: Romney-48%, Obama-45%
Rasmussen-Ohio: Obama-50%, Romney-49%
WeAskAmerica-Ohio: Romney-47%, Obama-46%
McLachlan/ACU-Nevada: Obama-49%, Romney-48%
A Gallup poll released today has the President ahead nationwide 49% to 46%. RealClearPolitics has moved Ohio out of the Obama column and back into the undecided.
To quote CNN's venerable pundit David Gergen: "Before the first presidential debate, voters were telling CNN by nearly a 2-1 margin that they expected an Obama victory. Many commentators were ready to hold a coronation for the president. Now, by more than a 2-1 margin, voters who watched the debate are saying that Mitt Romney won it -- and we have a horse race on our hands."
President Obama received a break though, in the form of the release of Department of Labour data that shows that the unemployment rate has dropped to 7.8%, falling below 8% for the first time since President Obama's inauguration.
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric Co., caused controversy when he suggested on Twitter that the Obama administration had manipulated the numbers. He tweeted "Unbelievable jobs numbers. These Chicago guys will do anything. Can't debate so change numbers." He later said in an interview, "I wasn't kidding." But Keith Hall, who served as commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2008 until 2012, said in an interview Friday that there is no way someone at the agency could change any of the data in its two monthly employment surveys. The significant improvement in the unemployment rate may reflect normal statistical errors in the sampling process, he said, but that has nothing to do with manipulation.
Governor Romney dismissed Friday's jobs report as insufficient progress. He told supporters at a rally in Abingdon, Va., that the unemployment rate has inched downward "very, very slowly." He added "The truth is, if the same share of people were participating in the workforce today as on the day the president got elected, our unemployment rate would be around 11%. That's the real reality of what's happening out there."
This is going to be a very interesting and a very exciting month. I agree with David Gergen on this one, we are indeed in for a horse race with a close finish.