Poll: Obama leads Romney on key issues

WASHINGTON, April 10 (UPI) -- President Obama leads Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on personal attributes and several key issues, a Washington Post-ABC News poll indicated.

Although Obama leads on traits such as empathy and issues such as protecting the middle class, the president is vulnerable to voter discontent over the economic recovery, poll results released Tuesday indicated.

Obama holds double-digit leads over Romney on who would do a better job protecting the middle class, addressing women's issues, handling international affairs and dealing with healthcare, results showed.

On personal traits, Obama has a better than 2-to-1 advantage over the former Massachusetts governor as more friendly and likable, and nearly that margin as "more inspiring."

But on the issues of the economy and jobs, results indicated about as many poll participants trust Romney as Obama.

Romney held a double-digit lead over Obama on who would better address the federal budget deficit.

In the Republican primary race, Romney holds a huge lead over rivals Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul, poll results indicated.The poll found 44 percent of Republican and GOP-leaning independent voters said they would like Romney to be the party's nominee and 25 percent choosing Santorum, the former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania. Former House Speaker Gingrich and U.S. Rep. Paul of Texas were well behind.

Results are based on a nationwide telephone survey of 1,103 adults conducted Thursday through Sunday. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.