Republican candidate Mitt Romney argued with great arrogance this week that President Obama’s supporters represent the 47% of Americans who pay no taxes. But a review of federal tax paperwork that doesn’t include Americans who filed no returns, shows without question that Republican states dominate the folk that Mitt Romney is talking about. Now maybe every Democrat in these states is on the dole, but that’s unlikely. What Republicans choose to ignore is that they represent some of the poorest folks in America. Read on at The Atlantic Where Are the 47% of Americans Who Pay No Income Taxes

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Obama Increases Poll Leads

A new poll out today by Pew Research Center has President Obama leading Republican challenger Mitt Romney by 8 points nationally, 50 to 43 in a group of 2.424 registered voters.

It’s worth noting that President Obama holds a bigger September lead than the last three candidates to win the presidency, including Obama in 2008. Dialing back to 1988, only Bill Clinton in both 1992 and 1996 entered the fall season with a bigger advantage.

PEW research also looked at President Obama’s onging support among different religious groups. As expected, Black Protestant registered voters have almost universal support for the president. Religiously unaffiliated voters have increased slightly their support of the president from about 60% in Oct 2011 to 63-35% now.

In spite of tremendous pressure from Catholic bishops not to support the president’s policies, both white Catholic voters and white mainline protestant voters have increased their support from about 37% a year ago to nearly 50% today. As expected, the president’s support among white evangelical protestant registered voters is the lowest of all groups, hovering at about 20%. (cont. column 2)

Related reading

Are Catholic Bishops Moving Toward The GOP? Huffington Post

Obama Leads on Most Key Issues in Pew Research Poll

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The new Pew Survey was taken during last week’s Middle East violence outbreak, but before this week’s comments from Mitt Romney about America’s 47% of deadbeats who accept government aid of any kind, including social security.

According to the survey,where the president maintains a 15 point lead among registered voters,

Far more voters see Obama as a strong leader and as the candidate voters believe would use good judgment in a crisis. Voters also express more confidence in Obama than Romney to deal with foreign policy generally, as well as problems in the Middle East.

Obama enjoys a staggering 43 point advantage in the measure “connects well with ordinary Americans”. In a massive disparity in perceived strengths between the two candidates, Obama outpaces Romney by 13 points of greater on these issues:

Takes consistent positions on issues; Willing to take unpopular stand; Good judgment in a crisis; honest and truthful; a strong leader; dealing with health care; dealing with Medicare; and representing your views on abortion.

Obama Closes Gap With Men Voters, Big Women Lead

The latest Pew Research poll of registered voters also shows President Obama closing the gender gap with men voters, while his lead with women remains huge.

Men Voters