(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons )

 

BY NICHOLE CARTMELL
 

ANCHOR JIM FLINK


With only a week left until the first debate, President Obama and Mitt Romney are making their way through the battleground state of Ohio. Polls from The Washington Post show Mr. Obama in the lead among likely voters. Here’s CBS with the results.

“The poll shows Mr. Obama now ahead by 9 percent in Florida. In Pennsylvania he has a 12 point lead. And Ohio, look at this, the President leads Governor Mitt Romney by 10 points.”

The poll shows an even bigger lead for the president among Ohio women with a 25-point advantage. And Mr. Obama  has a 35-point edge among voters under 35 years old. ABC News points out no Republican candidate has won the election without Ohio.

“If President Obama wins Ohio the path for Romney is challenging. For example he would have to pick up Virginia, Wisconsin, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire and he still would not have the 270 electoral votes he needs.”

But Mr. Romney’s political director doesn’t appear to be worried. CNN reports the Romney campaign doesn’t trust the polls.

“He basically said well polls come up and polls go down. That was basically the message that came from his political director ... The Romney campaign insisted there’s still plenty of time to pull this out.”

A blogger for The New Republic points out Mr. Obama hasn’t ever been Ohio’s favorite pick, but the only way for Mr. Romney to win is to transform his image. He has just more than a month to do so, and the blogger doesn’t have much hope.

“Romney’s unpopularity isn't just an artificial product of misleading or persistent advertisements; it's underpinned by his own weaknesses. He has struggled to connect with voters, and his life story is central to the caricature built by the Obama campaign .”

Wednesday the candidates campaign routes will cross paths. President Obama will make appearances at two state colleges and Governor Romney will stop at three metropolitan areas.