Romney Solidifies GOP Position but Obama Gets Boost From Women

A widening gender gap, modest economic
gains, an edge on key issues and broad advantages in personal popularity are
boosting Barack Obama's re-election prospects. Yet Mitt Romney, moving to close
the deal in his own party, holds opportunities of his own for the road
ahead.

Obama has returned to a single-digit lead vs. Romney in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, 51-44 percent among registered
voters, after a virtual dead heat last month. That includes Obama's largest
margin to date among women, 57-38 percent. He trails by 8 points among men. http://www.langerresearch.com/uploads/1136a22012ElectionUpdat...

Underscoring that gender gap, Obama leads Romney by 19 points among all
adults in trust to handle "women's issues," his single largest advantage among a
dozen issues tested in this poll, which was produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. That
includes a 10-point lead for Obama on women's issues among men, growing to 27
points among women. http://www.langerresearch.com/

After an extended period of debate and
political positioning on a range of issues of concern to women, there's also a
sharp gender gap in the president's overall job approval rating - 13 points
higher among women than men, another record in ABC/Post polls. Obama's 50
percent approval rating overall rests on positive views among 56 percent of
women vs. 43 percent of men.

Other factors are at play. Obama leads
Romney by significant margins in trust to handle six key issues in all, ranging
from international affairs to protecting the middle class to handling social
issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Romney clearly leads on just one,
handling the deficit. Obama also leads on a range of personal attributes,
including by a vast 38 points in being seen as the more friendly and likable of
the two and by 26 points as "more inspiring."

Among issues, the economy, and the broader
sentiment it inspires, are key to the election. Today the fewest number of
Americans in more than a year say the country is on the wrong track, nearly half
say their local economy is improving and a sense that jobs are "very difficult"
to find has eased by 14 percentage points from last summer.

In addition, approval of Obama's handling
of the economy is up by 6 points from last month, "strong" disapproval has eased
by 8 points from its record high and he leads Romney by 12 points as better
understanding average Americans' economic problems.