国际英语新闻:Polls Show Obama Builds Modest Lead Over Romney

WASHINGTON — In the U.S. presidential race, the latest public opinion polls suggest President Barack Obama has built a modest lead over his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.  But analysts say the race remains close as both campaigns prepare for a series of debates beginning October 3.

The most recent nationwide polls show President Barack Obama with a lead over challenger Mitt Romney of between three and seven points.

The surveys were made after the two party conventions and suggest President Obama received a bigger boost from his convention than Romney did from his.

“I think Obama is slightly ahead," said veteran political observer Tom DeFrank, who writes about U.S. politics for the New York Daily News. "He has to hope that in the coming months the economy gets a little better, or at least does not get worse, and we will have to see how people process that.  But I think it is really very, very close at the moment,” Obama said.

Although the economy remains the central issue in this year’s election campaign, foreign policy has dominated the debate in recent days after angry mobs attacked the U.S. consulate in Libya and the U.S. embassy in Cairo.  Four Americans died in the consulate assault in Libya, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

Republican Mitt Romney said the Obama administration’s handling of the attack in Egypt showed weakness, referring to an early embassy statement condemning an Internet video that sparked the protests.

President Obama told the CBS program “60 Minutes” that Romney’s criticism showed what he called a “tendency to shoot first and aim later.”

The Romney comments drew criticism even from some Republicans, who questioned the wisdom of trying to critique the handling of a foreign policy issue as it was unfolding.

Political analyst Rhodes Cook says many Republicans are urging Romney to refocus on the economy, which they believe is his strongest argument to defeat the president in November.

“I think there is a sense of trying to get the race back to where it was before the conventions.  The economy is his big issue, so to go after Obama on this or to break ground on how you handle a foreign policy crisis is risky,” Cook said.