US presidential race swings towards Romney New polls suggest US Republican challenger Mitt Romney has closed the gap in the race for the White House following last week's first TV debate. The Reuters/Ipsos poll shows the two candidates tied at 46 percent support while Romney leads President Barack Obama by two points (49 versus 47 percent) among likely voters in other data by Gallop. Romney was seen by many pundits as having won the first debate in Denver. An unlikely character has taken centre-stage in the campaign in a new TV commercial by Obama's team. During the debate, Romney vowed to cut funding to public TV network PBS, which is home to the giant children's puppet Big Bird. The ad portrays Romney as blaming the Sesame Street character for America's problems rather than Wall Street. The Republican hit back, saying the ad was childish. These are tough times with real serious issues so you have to scratch your head when the President spends the last week talking about saving Big Bird. I actually think we need to have a President that talks about saving the American people and saving good jobs and saving our future. Stefan Grobe, euronews" correspondent in Washington DC told us that: Days after they parted in Denver, Romney is still dominating the headlines - and now the polls. Obama paid a huge price for his passivity. All eyes are now on the vice-presidential debate on Thursday. Many believe the Obama campaign will unleash Joe Biden to regain lost territories in the polls. But this is not without risks. More about: American politics, Barack Obama, Electoral campaign, Mitt Romney, USA presidential elections 2012