Obama outranks Romney on likability, polls show

The economy is in the tank and hopes for quick improvement are dim. Most people don’t like the direction the country is headed and many blame President Obama. And his GOP rival scores better on the top issues. So why isn’t Obama doing worse in the polls?One likely reason: Voters like him more than Mitt Romney.Obama’s job approval ratings long ago plummeted from his halcyon postelection days. But the president’s favorability — the catchall measure that pollsters say reflects voters’ gut feelings about a politician — has been resilient. Despite a recession, a sluggish jobless recovery, an oil spill, an unpopular healthcare law and a string of ugly tussles with Congress, Obama’s favorability is 54%, according to a recent USA Today-Gallup poll. Respondents were essentially divided on Romney, who had a 46% favorability rating. When asked about likability, respondents favored Obama, 60% to 30%.Included in that barometer is a group of personal traits more consequential than just being nice. Obama gets high marks on honesty and trustworthiness. And most voters say he shares their values and cares about people like them.And, by some accounts, voters really like the president. Two-thirds of voters surveyed recently by the Wall Street Journaland NBC said they liked Obama personally.Romney, the unofficial Republican nominee, was personally liked by 47%.“Basically, it looks like Romney’s personality is holding him back and Obama’s likability is helping him,” said Jeffrey M. Jones, managing editor for the Gallup Poll. “It seems frivolous, but it matters.” Agencies