Survey: Romney Preferred By Voters Over Obama to Handle Economy, Jobs

(Newsroom America) -- A new USA Today/Gallup survey finds that voters, by a 2-1 margin, believe presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney will better manage the economy and create jobs, despite the president's attacks on his business record.

Voters, by a 63-29 percent margin, said they believe Romney is better suited to get the economy moving once again, lower the federal deficit and create a more jobs-friendly business environment.

Those surveyed said his business background, including his time at equity firm Bain Capital, would lead him to make good decisions, not bad ones, in rebuilding the nation's struggling economy.

The poll also had some favorable news for the president. For example, by 2-1 Americans rate Obama as more likeable than Romney. And, by double digits, respondents said the president better understands the problems Americans face in their daily lives. And, the survey said Obama has an 8-point advantage in being seen as honest and trustworthy.

But clearly voters seem most anxious about jobs and the economy, and the survey appears to indicate that Obama's attacks on Romney's business acumen are not having much affect. For that and other reasons, the survey said Romney is generally doing better among the electorate:

-- Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents are much more enthusiastic about voting in November than are Democrats and their Democrat-leaning Independent allies;

-- A record number of Americans are expressing dissatisfaction with the sort of activist government Obama espouses, with 61 percent saying government is trying to do too many things that should normally be left to businesses and individuals (the highest figure since Gallup first began asking the question in 1992, the survey said);

-- Democratic attempts to paint Romney in a negative light seem to be ineffective; in February, 53 percent of Americans said they thought the former Massachusetts governor had the leadership qualities and personality to be president, but 54 percent do now.

The poll of 1,030 adults Thursday through Sunday has a margin of error of plus- or minus-4 percentage points.

"You've got to give the voters credit — economic reality trumps campaign rhetoric," Romney pollster Neil Newhouse told the paper. "It's pretty clear that the negative weight of the economy is having more impact on voters than President Obama's campaign ads distorting Gov. Romney's record."

Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said other surveys, such as a recent one by ABC News/Washington Post, showed that the president's attacks on Romney over his tenure at Bain were having an effect.

"While Mitt Romney has claimed for the past year that he knows how to create jobs because he did it as a corporate buyout specialist, Americans are just now learning about his real record — that he profited off of bankrupting companies and outsourcing jobs," he said.

Romney's camp has disputed that, saying most of Bain's outsourcing came after he stepped down as head of the firm to lead the Olympics in Salt Lake City.

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