New polls: Obama up in three key swing states (Ohio, Florida, Virginia)

By Michael J.W. Stickings

First Read reports on three new polls conducted by NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Marist:

In both Florida and Virginia, Obama is ahead of Romney by five points among likely voters (including those leaning toward a particular candidate), 49 percent to 44 percent.

In Ohio, the president's lead is seven points, 50 percent to 43 percent.

Among a larger pool of registered voters, Obama's advantage over Romney slightly increases to 7 points in Virginia, 8 in Florida and 9 in Ohio.

Of course, the usual caveats apply. There's still a long way to go, it's a tight race, the economy sucks, etc. But this is a pretty good position for the president to be in, and these polls show that he came out of the convention on the upswing, building fairly significant leads in these battleground states.

Now let's see what impact Romney's horrendous response to the situation in Egypt and Libya this week has on the polls. There's certainly a possibility that the "unqualified, unprepared, unfit" narrative takes hold and allows Obama to widen his lead.