THE RACE:
Polls: White House race stable and close

[June 28, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- With just over four months to go, polls underscore what's been clear for some time: President Barack Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney are locked in a neck-and-neck race in a closely divided nation.

Obama is clinging to a narrow 47 percent to 44 percent lead over Romney in an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll. The gap was within the poll's margin of error and thus statistically a draw. The numbers match those of an Associated Press-Gfk poll last week.

The NBC-Journal poll also showed that Romney's long business background, which he claims makes him better equipped to fix the economy, is a mixed blessing. Just 23 percent said they viewed Romney more positively because of it while 28 percent said it made them view him more negatively.

Meanwhile, Quinnipiac University polls show Obama leading in three battleground states, 45 to 41 percent in Florida, 47 to 38 percent in Ohio and 45 to 39 points in Pennsylvania. Obama plans a bus trip through Pennsylvania and Ohio next week.

And on the eve of the Supreme Court's big health-care ruling, a Washington Post-ABC News poll shows Americans are equally dissatisfied with the current health care system and with the Obama law intended to improve it, suggesting the high court's decision will not end the sharp national debate over health care.

Without fanfare, Romney on Tuesday won the Utah Republican primary, the last contest of a primary season that began with a crowded field in January. Romney, who went over the top a month ago, added 40 more delegates to his count.

Romney campaigned Wednesday in Northern Virginia. Obama met with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, was holding an in-town fundraiser and hosting an evening South Lawn picnic for lawmakers.

[Associated Press; By TOM RAUM]

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