Polls show Obama opens lead over Romney as negative ads take toll

New polls this week showed U.S. President Barack Obama has gained a considerable lead over presumed Republican nominee Mitt Romney, as the president's re-election camp bombarded the GOP standard bearer with negative ads in recent months. A Fox News poll released Friday puts Obama ahead of Romney by nine points, with 49 percent support to Romney's 40 percent nationally. It follows a trend set by two other polls released earlier this week. Both CNN-ORC and Reuters-Ipsos polls gave Obama a seven-point lead over Romney. The polls point to a jump in support for Obama among independents. According to the Fox News poll, Obama's support among that voting bloc went from a four-point lead in its last survey to 11 percentage points in this one. But the main reason driving the numbers maybe Romney's climbing unfavorability ratings. The Fox News poll found 46 percent with an unfavorable opinion of Romney, up five points from last month. In contrast, Obama earned a positive opinion from 54 percent surveyed. It also found Romney's favorable ratings dropped 6 percentage points since last month and now sits at 46 percent, down from 52 percent in mid-July. Commentators have signaled the shift may have something to do with the barrage of negative ads Romney is enduring from the president's camp. The Obama campaign has spent heavily on advertising attacking Romney's time at the private equity firm Bain Capital and his tax returns. And it appears to be working.