Reuter/Ipsos: Obama 46, Romney 43

[ProSense]

Obama extends slim lead over Romney in White House race

By Deborah Charles

(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama gained ground on Republican rival Mitt Romney for the third straight day, leading 46 percent to 43 percent, according to the Reuters/Ipsos daily tracking poll released on Tuesday.

Released hours before the presidential contenders face off for their second debate, the poll showed the number of undecided voters had increased, indicating a drop of support for Romney among the coveted voting bloc.

The poll showed that Obama has recovered some ground after a poor showing in his first presidential debate. After dropping below Romney in the wake of the October 3 debate, Obama regained the lead on Sunday and has increased that by 1 percentage point each day this week.

"I think what we're seeing is after the first debate Romney definitely saw a surge. A lot of his surge wasn't coming from Obama voters, it was coming from undecided voters, which is exactly where both candidates are seeking support," Ipsos pollster Julia Clark said.

- more -

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/16/us-usa-campaign-poll-idUSBRE89F14C20121016

Romney was up 3 points Thursday.

[dennis4868]

1. These damn polls

are confusing! Gallup has Romney up by 4 points today...WTH?

[Shivering Jemmy]

4. It's called variance

Sample from a distribution that is 50/50 it is equally likely to be on either side of that.

[boxman15]

5. The race is basically tied.

If it stays this way, you'll see polls like we've been seeing, with the polls ranging anywhere from Obama +4 to Romney +4

[mgcgulfcoast]

2. good news

[Shivering Jemmy]

3. Data tell me

Straight up national tie. Have extremal points on both sides of 50/50.

Hopefully tonight gives us a tiny push. All we need.

[budkin]

6. Good!

He'll be up more after tonight.

[Bake]

7. National polls are irrelevant (to an extent, at least)

It's the battleground states that matter.



Bake

[TroyD]

8. The battleground polls are most important, but

National polls are important too.

They get a lot of coverage and can influence the momentum and narrative in the race. It's bad to be behind in them, so Obama needs to raise his National numbers this week.