Obama takes swipe at Romney's jobs record - US politics live Barack Obama with Joe Biden and Janet Napolitano. Photograph: Patsy Lynch/Rex 9.45am: Good morning and welcome to Monday's US politics live blog, and here's a summary by Ryan Devereax of where we are so far. The Obama campaign's latest offensive takes aim at Mitt Romney's jobs record. A new two-minute ad from the president's team focuses on the former governor's time and Bain Capital and the acquisition, and shutting down, of a GST Steel plant. Workers are featured in the clip laying the blame on Romney, with one directly challenging the presidential hopeful's business savvy by saying: "I know how business works. I know why jobs come and why they go. As I look around at the millions of Americans without work, it breaks my heart. A new Gallup poll reveals a gender gap on the issue of same-sex marriage. While 56% of women support same sex couples having the right to marry, just 42% of men do. Overall the poll found 50% of Americans support same sex marriage. The issue has taken centre stage over the last week following president Obama's historic announcement that he supports same sex marriage, an announcement that came just one day after North Carolina passed a constitutional ban on legally recognized same sex unions. Romney made an appearance at Liberty University over the weekend, the conservative religious school that was founded by the Rev Jerry Falwell, a man who once linked 9/11 to society's embrace of homosexuality (among countless other homophobic proclamations). Romney largely avoided the topic of same sex marriage, however. When he did discuss the issue, he did so by linking himself to his former rival, Rick Santorum, who is popular among the Christian right. Romney pointed to a Brookings Institute study he said Santorum brought to his attention which claims those who graduate from high school, marry before having children and have a full-time job are likely to have better economic situations. Rick Santorum has urged Romney to use same sex marriage to attack president Obama. Appearing on CNN, Santorum called the issue a "potent weapon" Romney could use to "take advantage of a president who is very much out of touch with the values of America." Mitt Romney has been reluctant to take the sort of aggressive approach to same sex marriage that Santorum has advocated. In an interview with CBN, Romney suggested that he's waiting to see if the issue has staying power, saying "What I speak about day to day in some respects reflects what I'm being asked about. And so those issues, by virtue of the president's change of view on this topic has become more current today. How important it is to the people a few months from now, time will tell.