Obama Holds Wide Lead Over Romney

A new Bloomberg poll shows President Obama leads Mitt Romney by a wide margin, 53% to 40% among likely voters, even as six in 10 say the nation is headed down the wrong track.

Meanwhile, just 39% view Romney favorably, while 48% see him unfavorably. A majority of likely voters, 55%, view him as more out of touch with average Americans compared with 36% who say the president is more out of touch.

Key finding: “The presidential race is roughly tied among the most enthusiastic voters, 49% of whom back Romney compared with 48% for Obama. Still, Romney inspires far less enthusiasm even among his supporters than does Obama, with 35% of Romney backers saying their support for him is ‘very strong,’ compared with 51% of Obama backers who say so.”

Said pollster Ann Selzer: “You can see in these data how important turnout will be. Those most enthusiastic about the election are more supportive of Romney, but Obama’s voters are more locked into their candidate than Romney’s. Building resolve to vote and making the vote stick is job one, and both candidates face obstacles toward getting that done.”