Romney capitalises with lead of 4 points

In the first national poll to be conducted entirely after the opening US presidential debate, Mitt Romney now leads Barack Obama by four points.

The poll, conducted by Pew Research Center from Thursday through Sunday and released yesterday, shows Romney leading Obama among likely voters nationwide, 49% to 45%, a stark contrast from Pew’s mid-September poll after both parties’ conventions, which showed Obama up eight points among likely voters.

The dramatic 12-point swing in Pew’s poll from Obama to Romney is perhaps the strongest piece of evidence to date that Obama has paid a political price for his listless performance in the first presidential debate in Denver.