Tipsheet

Oh My: Romney 50, Obama 43 in National Poll

A little political catnip to ease you into your weekend.  Look -- it's May.  Polls don't matter yet.  But this is still fun:
 

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows Mitt Romney earning 50% of the vote and President Obama attracting 43% support. Four percent (4%) would vote for a third party candidate, while another three percent (3%) are undecided. This is the first time Romney has reached the 50% level of support and is his largest lead ever over the president. It comes a week after a disappointing jobs report that raised new questions about the state of the economy. Thirty-seven percent (37%) give the president good or excellent marks for his handling of the economy.  Forty-eight percent (48%) say he’s doing a poor job.


Liberals will whine that it's a "biased" poll, or whatever, but perhaps they've forgotten that Rasmussen absolutely nailed Obama's margin of victory in 2008.  For what it's worth, Gallup has Romney +1, down from a three-point advantage yesterday.  If you want to spend time worrying about a poll that might actually mean something at this stage, read my post on the new Wisconsin numbers.  If you'd prefer to fantasize about Obama getting blown out, read this poll of...Oregon:
 

In a November match-up between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney for President of the United States, Obama today edges Romney, 47% to 43%. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released 2 months ago, when the Republican primary was still competitive, Obama is down 3 points; Romney is up 4. Among women, Obama leads by 13; among men, Romney leads by 6 — a 19-point gender gap. Independents break 4:3 for Obama. In 2008, Obama defeated John McCain by 16 points in Oregon.


Obama is not going to lose Oregon in November, but could his margin of victory be uncomfortably close?  I wouldn't bet on it, but you never know...