The political world is buzzing today over a new Bloomberg poll that shows Barack Obama clobbering Mitt Romney by a whopping 53% to 40% margin. This comes despite voters widely disapproving of Obama's handling of the economy—only 43% approve, while 53% disapprove. So why is Obama winning? Because voters just plain don't like Romney. Only 39% view him favorably, and 55% say he is more "out of touch," with voters. A plurality also say they're better off now than four years ago.
Forty-five percent say they're better off, to only 36% who say they're worse off. "I'm just tired of the doom and gloom," says one independent voter. The pollsters point out, however, that the finding runs counter to recent economic indicators. Indeed, the whole poll is such an outlier that it's best taken with "a big grain of salt," Steve Kornacki of Salon warns. Obama probably isn't actually up by 13 points, writes Kornacki, but the poll is evidence that he's faring better than an incumbent in this economy normally would. Click for his full column. (More Mitt Romney stories.)
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