iChina.com

IN FLIGHT - AUGUST 10: Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talks with members of the traveling press aboard his campaign plane on August 10, 2012 in flight from Massachusetts to Virginia. Romney visited his campaign headquarters a day before kicking off a Cartier Love Bracelet four-day bus tour that in addition to Virginia, will see the candidate visit Florida, North Carolina and Ohio. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images / SF A bumpy overseas trip and a month of pummeling by Democratic ads depicting Mitt Romney as an out-of-touch plutocrat and possible tax evader appear to have taken a toll. Three polls released in the last few days show President Obama widening his lead over the former Massachusetts governor to as much as nine points. The surveys of registered voters, all TAG Heuer Replica conducted between Aug. 2 and 8, also have Romney's unfavorable ratings increasing. Two of the polls show his support among independents slipping. A Fox News poll found the largest deficit, with Romney trailing 49 to 40 percent. That's the widest gap Fox has reported all year. Its July survey had Obama up by 45 to 41 percent. Fox Chanel Replica Watches found that Obama's increasing advantage comes mainly on the strength of a big bump from independents, who now support the president by 11 points, up four points from July. Twenty-six percent of voters described themselves as "extremely" or "very" comfortable with the prospect of a Romney presidency, while 71 percent said they were Chanel J12 Replica either "somewhat" or "not at all" comfortable. Forty-one percent were extremely or very comfortable with a second Obama term, while 59 percent fell into the somewhat or not-at-all categories. A new CNN/ORC International survey placed the race at seven points (52 to 45 percent), up from 49 to 46 percent in July. Among independents, Obama's lead is at nine points. Fifty-two percent of independents view Romney unfavorably, up from 40 percent in May. Sixty-four percent of all voters think he favors the rich over the middle class. Voters also appear to be losing confidence in Romney's ability to fix the economy, according to the CNN poll, with 45 percent saying they think it would improve under Romney, down from 50 percent in May. Romney's overseas trip late last month was marked by misadventures. British leaders were miffed when he questioned their preparedness for the Summer Olympics. In Israel, he Replica Watches infuriated Palestinians by saying "culture makes all the difference" when looking at their lack of economic growth relative to the Israelis. At home, the Obama campaign hammered on Romney's business career at Bain Capital, with one ad showing images of closed factories and news stories about his foreign investments, accompanied Omega Replica Watches by his off-key rendition of "America the Beautiful." Another spot, addressing Romney's refusal to release additional years of income tax returns, asks, "What is Mitt Romney hiding?" A senior Romney adviser downplayed the new polls at a news briefing Friday, saying there had been no "precipitating event" to move the numbers. The campaign cited the latest Gallup tracking poll, which has the two candidates in a dead heat at 46 percent. Rasmussen, an automated poll that usually leans Republican, has Romney ahead 47 to 43 percent in its daily tracking. One encouraging thing for Romney from the CNN poll: He continues to solidify his party's support. Fifty-six percent of Romney voters said they strongly support him, up Swiss Replica Watches from 47 percent in May. The poll results only raise the stakes surrounding Romney's announcement of his choice of running mate and the opportunity to reintroduce himself to the country at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., this month. Among the possible vice presidential selections, Republicans and Cartier Replica Watch GOP-leaning independents expressed a marked preference for Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the CNN survey. Both were viewed favorably by at least 50 percent. Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty had a favorable rating of 37 percent, while the favorable rating of Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio was 29 percent.