Romney more likely to break gridlock, poll finds

Although preference polls portray the presidential race as essentially deadlocked, polling on fundamental issues continues to favor Mitt Romney. The latest such poll comes from AP. It finds that 47 percent of likely voters believe Romney would be better than President Obama at ending the “logjam” in Washington, while only 37 percent say Obama would be better than Romney in this respect.

The same poll finds Romney leading Obama by 47-45. The lead is not statistically insignificant, but Team Obama can’t be happy about a poll that shows the president with only 45 percent support at this late date.

Romney has pushed hard on the theme that he can work with Democrats. Obama, meanwhile, has spent four years proving that he can’t work with Republicans. Thus, the belief that Romney would be better at breaking the D.C. gridlock is a natural one, even though it’s doubtful that, in reality, either candidate could make much headway in this regard.

Still, voters yearn for cooperation between the two parties. So Romney’s edge probably is politically significant, assuming that Chris Christie doesn’t spoil it.

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