(04/27/12) -

Americans Pick Obama Over Romney on Many Positive Traits

The prospective Republican nominee is regarded as a better economic manager than the incumbent head of state.

Barack Obama heads to the final six months of the presidential campaign in the United States with a sizeable lead over Mitt Romney on specific issues of interest to the American electorate, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

The online survey of a representative national sample of 1,012 American adults also shows that both presidential contenders are currently posting negative momentum scores among all respondents and Independent voters.

On the Issues

At this point in the campaign, Obama holds double-digit leads over Romney on being the best presidential candidate to deal with education (41% to 26%), the environment (40% to 21%), foreign policy (39% to 26%) and health care (38% to 24%). The incumbent president is also regarded as the best choice to handle crime (33% to 27%), job creation (36% to 30%) and immigration (35% to 27%).

Romney gets his best numbers on energy and oil, the economy and government accountability (where he trails Obama by two or three points respectively). The GOP contender is barely ahead of Obama on managing the deficit (32% to 30%).

Momentum

Across the country, one-in-five Americans (21%) say their opinion of both Obama and Romney has improved in the past three months. However, slightly more Americans (33%) say their views of Obama have worsened recently compared to Romney (28%). An analysis of Independents also shows the current head of state with a lower momentum score (-19) than his Republican rival (-9).

Traits and Characteristics

Respondents were asked to review if the two candidates embody nine positive traits and characteristics. Obama is clearly ahead of Romney on being a good speaker and communicator (69% to 47%), being in touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives (46% to 27%), sharing their values (41% to 30%), generally agreeing with them on issues they care about (43% to 34%), and being honest and trustworthy (43% to 33%).

Obama holds smaller leads over Romney on dealing with labor unions effectively in the event of a dispute (38% to 33%) and being able to unite America and not divide it (35% to 29%).

Romney is practically tied with Obama on being the right person to bring the kind of change America needs (33% to 35%) and has a ten-point edge over the incumbent on being a good economic manager (41% to 31%).

Among Independents, Obama maintains the upper hand on most traits, but sees his ranking as an economic manager drop to 19 per cent, with Romney at 38 per cent. The exact opposite numbers are observed on the question of being in touch with ordinary Americans, with Obama outpacing Romney by a 2-to-1 margin.

Analysis

In the early stages of the presidential campaign, it is habitual to see the incumbent with a lead on most of these indicators. However, Obama’s lower momentum score outlines some difficulties reconnecting with the electorate, particularly with Independents. The “Yes, we can” candidate is now practically tied with the presumed GOP nominee on bringing the kind of change America needs.

Also, at a time when Americans remain concerned about finances, Romney is already perceived as a better economic manager than Obama, and is regarded as the best person to tackle the deficit.

The biggest drawback for Romney is the fact that he is seen as a person who is out of touch with the average American. It will be important to keep track of these indicators as the campaign progresses, to find out whether Romney can wrestle another issue away from Obama, and whether the incumbent president can gain traction as the person who Americans would trust the most to handle the country’s economy.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From April 19 to April 20, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,012 randomly selected American adults who are Springboard America panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of the United States. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.