Rasmussen Polls Show that Presidential Debate Last Night May Put Romney in the Lead

By Jesse Merkel 

On Wednesday night, the first presidential debate between President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took place in Colorado at the University of Denver. Numerous talking heads on the left and right had been saying that if Mitt Romney did not knock it out of the park last night, he was done. However, Romney was not the only one with a lot on his plate on Wednesday, as Obama and Romney are locked in a battle over several key swing states. Now that the debate is over, both candidates must re-focus on closing the gap.

Despite the fact that President Obama is outspending Mitt Romney on TV ads, the momentum does not appear to be moving his way in certain states. Florida and Virginia both appear to bereversing course. According to a Suffolk poll, a month ago President Obama has a comfortable five point lead in both states, which now has gone down to only two points, well within the margin of error. 

The same poll shows Obama's once commanding lead on foreign policy slipping down, a lead that Romney could eat into further as more facts about the attack on the Libyan Consulate become known. House GOP leaders have begun to investigate the matter, especially after learning that requests by the Libyan consulate for improved security were denied multiple times.

According to Rasmussen, Mitt Romney is now ahead of Obama in North Carolina, 51% to 47%. North Carolina, like Virginia and Florida, is a must-win for Romney. And a recent poll conducted by National Journal showed Mitt Romney once again in the lead with independent voters, 49%to 41% The two are tired overall across the country at 47% each.

That amazing Obamacare everyone is supposed to love? Well, apparently 55% of doctors didn't get the memo. While the sample for this particular poll is not perfect, it's a much more accurate representation of the electorate than some more recent atrocities that the mainstream media has tried to feed people.

Buried within each poll is a series of mixed messages that makes it very difficult to see how this election will play out. While President Obama leads with women, Mitt Romney leads with men. Romney continues to hold commanding leads with independents, while Obama continues to receive strong support from the African American and Hispanic communities. 

And there are other developments that will no doubt have an impact, even if it is only a small one. Recently, a special broadcast on Univision excoriated President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder for the "Fast and Furious" scandal, most notably for the deaths of dozens of individuals in Mexico. On top of that, a video of then-candidate Obama from 2007 has emerged which may change some voters' minds. While the video was previously released five years ago, the ad-libbed parts of the speech were not. Many people may come to find these remarks about white people and those living in the suburbs to be rather offensive or inflammatory. (Full video appears on the third page of the article.)

Those inside the Obama camp that are hoping that the videos from the past will stop shouldn't hold their breath. The Daily Caller dropped a second video on Wednesday, this time showing Obama in 2002 attacking wealthier Americans. Obama now has to compete with the same kind of bad press that Romney has been dealing with for months.

The presidential debate last night, combined with this polling data, should have President Obama worried. Romney has worked his way back up to striking distance in just four weeks. Last night's debate, which has been called for Romney, could tip the balance permanently. 

See more of Jesse Merkel at Policymic here........ http://jessemerkel.policymic.com/