Romney's seven point Gallup lead - don't panic!

US political watchers are getting particularly excited by Gallup's post debate poll showing Romney with a seven point margin over Obama - surely enough to propel him to the Whitehouse in  19 days time.

But this interesting analysis from the Huffington Post suggests some reasons why national polls - such as this Gallup one - are apparently at odds with state polling that shows Obama with leads in key swing states

Will Obama be a one term President?

Now that the GOP has stopped tearing itself apart in its 'who can believe the most impossible things before breakfast' contest - otherwise known as its Mormon v Creationist primary - it is clear the US electorate is turning towards the November contest.

And what they see is a President with election losing approval ratings - no doubt due to sluggish growth and botched health reforms of the Cameron Obama administration. This graphic from US polling company Rasmussen is particularly interesting:

Unsurprisingly with this approval rating the pollster puts Romney ahead of Obama 47:44.

It will be interesting to see how Obama uses his vast warchest to turn things round. And I imagine there will many burning the midnight oil in Downing Street to see what lessons can be imported this side of the Atlantic for another struggling administration.