WASHINGTON (AP) – Fewer Americans believe the economy is getting better and a majority disapproves of how President Barack Obama is handling it, according to a new Associated Press GfK poll.

And it shows that Republican Mitt Romney leads over President Obama in the Treasure State.

A new Associated Press GfK poll shows that Republican challenger Romney has moved into a virtually even position with the president after three months of declining job creation that have left the public increasingly glum.

Obama has lost the narrow lead he had held just a month ago among registered voters.

Fifty five percent of voters in the poll say Romney is the candidate most out of touch with the American people, versus 36 percent who say that of the president.

President Obama is up 7 points in Colorado over Republican nominee Mitt Romney, 49 percent to 42 percent, but the former Massachusetts governors favorability rating is bouncing back, a new poll of the swing state from Democratic leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows.

With his Republican nomination now ensured, Romney has succeeded in unifying the party behind him and in maintaining a singular focus on making the election a referendum on Obama’s handling of the economy.

Bloomberg News has a poll this morning showing the rosiest picture of the general election the Obama team has seen in weeks: Obama leads Romney in the survey, 53 percent to 40 percent.

The poll is not good news for the president, and it reflects fluctuations in the economy, which has shown both strength and weakness since it began to recover from the recent recession.

The 13 point lead for the president was far bigger than in most other recent national polls, which show a much tighter race.

The new survey illustrates how an ideologically divided country and a stumbling recovery have driven the two men into a tight match.

President Obama leads Mitt Romney in the critical swing state of Colorado, 49 percent to 42, according to the latest survey from left leaning Public Policy Polling.

Likely voters are split over whether Romney’s business experience made him better prepared to create jobs as president, with 49 percent saying it doesn’t and 45 percent saying it does.

“we’re not going to vote for Obama,” said Raymond Back, a 60 year old manufacturing plant manager from North Olmsted, Ohio, one of the most competitive states in this election.

Obama’s overall 49 percent approval rating is not unlike the approval ratings George W.

FormerPresident Bill Clinton is viewed favorably by 69 percent andunfavorably by 25 percent, while former President George W.

Bush faced in June 2004 during his re election campaign, when he and his Democratic challenger, John Kerry, were also locked in a dead heat.

Both Romney and Obama advisers have anticipated a close contest that will be driven largely by economic conditions.

The Obama camp is busy trying to define Romney, hoping it is reaching more independents like Doss Comer, 58, of Jacksonville, N.

But, he added: “we don’t trust Romney because of what he’s doing. He’s telling his business experience, that he was an investor in business. … we don’t think he has the right background any more than Obama.”.

Asked to name the most important qualification on Romney’s resume, a plurality of 41 percent cite his experience as governor of Massachusetts, while 34 percent say it’s his business experience at the Boston based firm Bain Capital Limited liability company.

Besides weak job growth and still high unemployment, Obama is at the mercy of European countries struggling with a debt crisis that has already sent ripples across the Atlantic.

US builders started work on more single family homes in May and requested the most permits to build homes and apartments in 3 1/2 years.

While preferences for November are evenly split, a majority believes Obama will still be re elected, a shift from an even split on the question seven months ago.

In December, 21 percent of Republicans said they thought Obama would win re election; that’s risen to 31 percent now.

Tuesday’s Public Policy Polling poll is no exception: Obama leads Romney in a head to head matchup by 49 percent to 42 percent.

, believes Romney would be a reassuring voice for a business community worried about regulations and higher taxes.

But he said he still thinks Obama will win because the right wing of the Republican Party could alienate voters away from Romney and because, in his view, Romney lacks a clear message.

Amy Thackeray, 35, of Alpine, Utah, said her husband and five children experienced the economic downturn when it affected her husband’s job.

“We need a president who takes one term and makes the hard decisions to put us back on the right track, and we hope it will be Romney.”.

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama has opened up a double digit lead over Mitt Romney in a national poll released Wednesday, even as a majority of respondents say the country is on the wrong track.

The Associated Press GfK Poll was conducted June 14 18 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications.

It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,007 adults nationwide, including 878 registered voters.

The RepublicanParty’s favorability rating drops 3 percentage points fromBloomberg’s March poll to 41 percent, while its unfavorabilitystands at 50 percent.

Anderson and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

Sean Brierley is a business journalist based in Hobart, Australia. Sean has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Sean spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.