Obama maintains lead over Romney in new polls

President Obama remains narrowly ahead ahead of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, according to polls released by NBC News and other outlets on Wednesday.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed Obama ahead 47 to 43, little changed from 49 to 43 percent last month. A poll released by ABC News and the Washington Post showed Obama ahead 49 to 46 percent.

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The NBC/WSJ poll showed Obama maintaining large leads among blacks (86 points), voters between ages 18 and 34 (20 points) and women (15 points). It also showed that Obama’s decision to embrace gay marriage is unlikely to hurt him politically, as 62 percent of voters said his stance had made no difference in their vote. That includes 75 percent of independents, 76 percent of moderates and 81 percent of African-Americans.

But the numbers also show some danger signs for the president. More than half of voters (52 percent) disapprove of Obama’s handling of the economy, and a majority of voters feel the economy will either get worse (19 percent) or remain the same (46 percent).

In addition, Obama’s campaign has good reason to be wary of Romney’s experience at Bain Capital, which has become a major debate in the campaign, as the former governor heavily touts it while Obama officials cast his work as largely leading to layoffs of workers.

Fifty-nine percent of voters feel Romney’s business background will help him fix the economy, and 59 percent also feel his years in business would help him reduce the budget deficit.

Follow Perry Bacon Jr. on Twitter at @perrybaconjr