Politics
Election 2012: Obama numbers rising – boosted by latest housing reports
Romney raised campaign cash in Georgia in advance of his appearance on a forum hosted by the Spanish-language TV network Univision in battleground Florida, his first before a public audience since the emergence of the videotape. The opening portion of the forum focused on his videotaped comments before moving on to his reluctance to clarify his immigration policy and to his support for Arizona’s controversial immigration law.
Fellow Republicans have been pressuring Romney to campaign more extensively. The campaign was planning a more aggressive schedule of traditional campaign events in battleground states, including critical Ohio, as early as this weekend, a campaign adviser said. The adviser spoke on the condition of anonymity because the plans had not yet been announced formally.
In a campaign dominated all year by the sluggish economy, the government said construction of single-family homes jumped to the highest rate in more than two years. Separately, the National Association of Realtors reported that home sales rose last month to the highest level since May 2010.
Real estate has been among the slowest sectors of the economy to recover from the national downturn of 2008. The administration has struggled to reverse a decline in home values that left millions who managed to avoid foreclosure owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
There was downbeat news, as well, in an economy struggling to create jobs. State officials in Michigan reported the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in August rose by four-tenths of a percent to 9.4 percent, well above the national average of 8.1 percent. Romney grew up in Michigan, but he has yet to contest it seriously in his quest for the White House.
A new AP-GfK poll, taken before the Romney video was revealed, put Obama’s overall approval rating among voting-age adults at 56 percent. That was above 50 percent for the first time since May, and at its highest level since the death of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden more than a year ago.
Among likely voters, however, the race was a statistical tie, with Obama at 47 percent and Romney at 46 percent.
