Romney edges ahead in latest national poll, most blame Obama for economic downturn

{mosads}Perhaps most concerning for the president, the presumptive Republican nominee now holds a 49-41 percent advantage among voters asked who would best handle the economy,

Still, there are some bright spots for Obama. Voters are far more likely to say he is focusing on the middle class, besting Romney 52-38 percent. And more voters say President Obama (38 percent) cares about their problems than those who do about Mitt Romney (25 percent).

Meanwhile, some 53 percent of voters say Romney’s policies favor the wealthy. And 23 percent say Romney’s experience with Bain Capital makes them less likely to vote for him — versus 14 percent who say his business experience makes them more likely to side with his campaign.

The president’s supporters are also far more likely to actually like him than Republicans are their nominee. More than half of Obama voters say they “strongly favor” the president, with only eight saying that they are lodging their vote against Mitt Romney. Romney, meanwhile, is strongly favored by less than 3 in 10 of his supporters, but 37 percent say they are voting against Obama.

The poll also found that half of Americans believed that the Bush-era tax cuts should be extended for households making under $250,000 per year, as the president has proposed, while just 27 percent say the taxes should be fully extended, as Romney advocates.