Obama's lead over Romney grows despite voters' pessimism

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the future but voters do not seem to be holding it against Democratic President Barack Obama, who slightly expanded his lead over Republican rival Mitt Romney this month, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll says.

Three months before the November 6 presidential election, nearly two-thirds of Americans think the country is moving in the wrong direction. Only 31 percent say it is moving in the right direction - the lowest number since December 2011.

But Obama's lead over Romney among registered voters was 49 percent to 42 percent, up slightly from the 6-point advantage the president held a month earlier over the former Massachusetts governor.

The results of the monthly poll - in which a majority of voters agreed that the economy is the most important problem facing the United States - suggest that the Obama campaign's efforts to paint Romney as being out of touch with the concerns of middle-class Americans could be preventing the Republican from gaining momentum in the race.

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Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/08/us-usa-campaign-poll-idINBRE8770SL20120808

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The poll also found that registered voters consider Obama stronger than Romney on jobs and the economy (46 to 44 percent), and on tax matters (49 to 38 percent).