Byron York: In Ohio, Romney battles Obama -- and the polls

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Washington Examiner:

CINCINNATI

 

 

"I think the intensity is on our side this year," said Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, perhaps the most effective campaigner for Mitt Romney, as he shook hands Thursday afternoon with volunteers and supporters in a suburban Cincinnati restaurant. "Theirs is not what it was in 2008."

 

Portman was visiting the Firehouse Grill to campaign not only for Romney but also for Brad Wenstrup, the local Republican favored to win a seat representing Ohio's 2nd District in Congress. After the event, Portman came over to a table where my laptop displayed the RealClearPolitics average of Ohio polls. There were nine polls on the screen. Eight, displayed in blue, showed Barack Obama ahead in Ohio by anywhere from one to five points. One, displayed in red, showed Romney ahead by two points.

 

 

Portman studied the screen. What about those? I asked. Romney's pollster, Neil Newhouse, has said the race is essentially dead even in the campaign's internal surveys. But on the screen, there was poll after poll showing the president ahead, if only by a little.