ON THE TRAIL

New Poll: Obama Up By Six Points

Both candidates’ “very negative” ratings at all-time high.

Another day, another poll. An NBC News / Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday has President Obama leading Mitt Romney by six points—although the negative tone of the election has taken a toll on both candidates, with both reaching an all-time high of respondents having “very negative” opinions about them. Romney was hit the hardest: for the first time for a presumptive Republican nominee, he had a net negative rating. “This is not characteristic… for July,” said Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart. “These are the numbers you usually see in October.” Overall, Obama led Romney among registered voters 49 percent to 43 percent—and Obama’s lead increased to eight points in 12 battleground states.