President Obama making gains in key battleground states for November

THE NUMBERS appear to be adding up for President Obama.

Not the data about the nation’s economy recovery, which remains anemic.

But the President has surged ahead in several key polls that may point to Obama securing the one number that counts in November: 270, the total of Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.

The race between Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney has stayed within a few points for months. But Obama, unlike his Republican rival, received a bump in the polls from his party’s convention — and it is important to note where the incumbent is enjoying his surge.

He now leads in Pennsylvania, a key swing state, by 11 points, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer poll released Saturday.

That lead, which is echoed in other recent surveys, has grown so large that pundits now question whether Pennsylvania — even with new voter ID laws that could hold down Democratic turnout — is even a battleground at all.

Other true swing states have also broken Obama’s way in recent weeks. He now enjoys leads outside the margin of error in Florida, Ohio and Virginia, according to recent polls.

If Obama wins that trio, he is all but assured of capturing a second term, even if the national popular vote remains a tossup.

The President is also opening up leads on key issues that may sway undecided voters.

For the first time since the campaign began, a new poll indicates that Obama has more of voters’ confidence that he can repair the nation’s economy — which could be a crippling blow to Romney, who has based his entire candidacy on the belief that his business experience would clear the fiscal doldrums.

Democrats have also, for the first time since 2007, tied Republicans in the public’s perception as to which party would keep the nation safer from terrorism, according to a new Gallup Poll.

That looms large as the campaign now centers on a violent foreign policy crisis.

The unrest in the Middle East, which claimed the lives of a U.S. ambassador and three colleagues, has forced Romney to react to a fast-moving international incident — and he drew widespread scorn for seemingly politicizing a national tragedy.

The Romney camp, however, is not willing to cede foreign policy to the Democrats and continues to step up its slams on what it believes is the administration’s flawed handling of the attacks.

“If we project weakness, they come,” said Romney running mate Paul Ryan during a Saturday campaign stop in Florida. “If we are strong, our adversaries will not test us and our allies will respect us.”

Courtesy: dailynews