CNN poll: Obama leads Romney by 9 points

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WASHINGTON, April 16 (UPI) -- A national poll released Monday indicated U.S. President Barack Obama has a 9-point lead over Mitt Romney seven months before the November election.

The CNN/ORC International poll indicated the incumbent Democrat held a significant edge over the presumptive Republican nominee in terms of likability among voters and being more in touch with issues the middle class and women view as important. The poll showed, however, the public is divided on which is best-suited for getting the economy humming in the next four years.

The poll found 52 percent of registered voters said if the election were held today, they would vote for Obama, while 43 percent said their vote would go to Romney, a former Massachusetts governor.

Among women, Obama's lead stretches to 55 percent to 39 percent.

Half of those surveyed said they think Obama would be more likely to stand up for what he believes in, compared with 29 percent for Romney. Nearly half said they think Romney would likely change his position on issues for political expediency, while 39 percent felt likewise about Obama.

The poll gave Obama double-digit leads over Romney on likability, honesty, confidence, values and leadership.

Where Romney gives Obama a run for his money is on the economy.

"Obama and Romney are essentially tied on who is more likely to get the economy moving again, and that may provide Romney an opening to chip away at Obama's current overall lead," CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said.

The telephone survey of 1,015 adult Americans, including 910 registered voters, was conducted Friday through Sunday by ORC International. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.