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Romney, Obama woo middle class voters

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    Where does key voting bloc stand?

  • Duration 2:51
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In the general election race to 270.

Delegates the number needed to win.

The economy is undeniably important to everyone particularly the middle class.

Is governor Romney's business experience more important to voters -- president Obama's three plus years of steering the US economy.

As -- political correspondent Carl Cameron reports it's all about the numbers.

This is as close to middle class voters as President Obama and Mitt Romney get most of the time on the campaign trail otherwise there are carefully staged events.

President Obama visited -- family at their house a couple of weeks ago Romney holds roundtable small groups to sharpen his connection to a voting -- each candidate says the other neglects.

-- -- -- -- me some of the hardest hit.

Have been those in the middle class of America many of whom have fallen from the middle class and the poverty.

He seems to believe that.

If -- always -- and wealthy investors.

Like him are getting rich that the rest of us automatically due to.

Ronnie calls that an attack on success.

And among middle class white voters who say they're struggling Romney has a substantial lead 58 to 32% over the president in the latest Washington Post poll.

They know that Romney has a business background and they know that the economy is lousy and that Obama hasn't delivered -- them over the past four years.

They put those things together.

It equals a vote for Romney.

President Obama's promise to get national unemployment under 8% has not yet been realized though it's down to eight point one from 9% a year ago.

Nonetheless this is uncharted territory.

National unemployment has not been this high at this point -- -- presidential campaign since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking unemployment 1948.

Still the rate has declined since last year and all the two states new York and Rhode Island both democratic strongholds where president Obama's heavily favored to win.

The unemployment rates in the battleground swing states like we decide this election could prove decisive.

The worst is the western state of Nevada at eleven point 7% it's down from thirteen and a half a year ago but still very daunting for an incumbent.

Unemployment North Carolina a state mr.

Obama won -- -- -- is nine point 4% a point lower than last year but Romney now leads North Carolina polls.

Florida is still seven tenths of a point above 8% but it was ten point six at this point 2011.

This'll be a battleground till Election Day.

Michigan Romney's home state has an eight point 3% jobless rate down 2.2 points from last April Colorado seven point 9% now -- a half a point since last year.

And in Ohio unemployment seven point 4% down from eight point eight.

So even though unemployment has come down and a number of states it remains at a sixty plus year high in terms of presidential campaigns.

And that does not include the underemployed.

And those who stopped looking for work altogether add them in and things look a lot worse for a all right Carl thanks and also looks like --