(Newser)
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In news that may give Mitt Romney the blues, Americans are starting to cheer up a little, according to the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll. Some 55% still believe America is heading in the wrong direction, while 39% think it is going in the right direction, the poll found. But it's the highest score for "right direction" since April 2010 and a big change from a month ago, when 64% thought we were on the wrong track and only 31% were optimistic.
"It's good news for Obama, frankly, because the more people who think things are going in the right direction now, the easier it will be for him to get re-elected," an Ipsos pollster says. "As that number begins to creep up, it's all good news for the party in power." The buzz from the political conventions and perceptions of a gradually improving economy probably helped, the pollster says. The poll found that 48% said they would vote for Obama and 45% would choose Romney. Those surveyed were evenly split on which candidate was stronger on jobs and the economy.
