Polls, polls and more polls

By Richard K. Barry

Here's a great big surprise: America is a deeply divided nation and, now that the stage is set for the 2012 presidential election, the polls are showing just that.

A USA/Gallup Swing States Poll has the President and Mitt Romney essentially even among registered voters -- Obama 47%, Romney 45% -- in the 12 battleground states likely to determine the outcome of the election. In late March, the Swing State poll had Obama ahead by 9 points.

One other very interesting finding from the survey is a shift in voter enthusiasm from a deficit for the Democrats late last fall to a current advantage. As MSNBC reports: "For the first time, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they are extremely or very enthusiastic about voting. A shift from a 14-percentage point GOP advantage at the end of last year to an 11-point deficit now."

A new Politico/George Washington University Battleground Poll finds a similar dead heat, with Romney out ahead 48% to 47%, well within the MoE. This poll does find, however, that Romney has opened up a 10-point lead among independent voters, 48% to 38%. That's interesting.

I don't think anyone is surprised that things are this tight. And, of course, everyone will talk about how early it is and how far we have to go before anything means anything. But we'll still try to find something to say. Try to stop us.

In truth, while it would be irresponsible to neglect polls, it's hard to know what to say about them at this point. Maybe I just won't bother to say anything. There, isn't that refreshing?

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)