Presidential Election 2012 - Latest Gallup Reports, Polls: Obama, Romney Viewed Favorably By American Adults; Obama Leads 62 Percent to 55 Percent

A new report by Gallup revealed that most Americans view President Barack Obama and his Republican opponent Mitt Romney favorably rather than unfavorably. Using Gallup's 10-point "scalometer" question, the poll found that 62 percent of American adults viewed Obama positively and 55 percent viewed Romney positively.

The poll was conducted on October 27 to 28, before Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast, Gallup noted. According to the poll, which was released on Thursday, the favorability margin between the two candidates among registered voters is much more narrow, 60 percent for Obama and 56 percent for Romney.

Gallup reported using its "historical scalometer," which "involves asking respondents to use a 10-point scale, ranging from +5 at the high end to -5 at the low end (and no neutral '0' score), to say how favorable or unfavorably they view each candidate."

This is the first time Gallup has used its scalometer rating for Romney and the fourth time it has used it for Obama, it stated.

Over the past couple of weeks Obama has seen fluctuations in his job approval ratings, but his favorable rating among American adults has remained steady, Gallup said. About 60 percent of national adults view Obama favorable and 40 percent view him unfavorably.

According to Gallup, Obama has "a net favorable score of +24," which is just slightly lower to his +27 net favorable score at the end of the 2008 election campaign.

Compared to past re-election campaigns, Obama's favorable rating is similar to George W. Bush's +22 net favorable in 2004. Obama scored higher than George H. W. Bush's +19 net favorable score in 1992 but scored lower than Ronald Reagan's +39 net score in 1984, Gallup said.

On the other hand, Romney's +12 net favorable score is lower than past presidential challengers: John Kerry's +17 in 2004, Bill Clinton's +31 in 1992 and Walter Mondale's +28 in 1984.

Gallup noted that its scalometer poll is by no means a perfect race predictor. However, Obama's slightly more positive rating could give "him a possible advantage in the election," Gallup said. Favorable ratings for Obama have seen a steady decline among registered and likely voters, which could also affect the race.