US election: Mitt Romney questions Barack Obama's honesty According the NBC News/WSJ/Marist Poll survey Mr Obama was up seven points in Ohio (50-43), five in Virginia (49-44) and five in Florida (49-44). The Romney campaign countered that the survey, which was taken after the Democratic Convention, reflected the 'bounce' Mr Obama was expected to get, and predicted that the weak economy would narrow the numbers as election day approached. However the survey chimed with reports of both parties' own private polling in Ohio and a recent Gallup survey showing Mr Obama's own support, which had been stuck around 46 per cent since May, now hitting the critical 50 per cent mark. Mr Romney said he was unconcerned, predicting that polls would "bounce around" a lot before November 6. I'm ahead in a lot of other states, too. I saw one this morning, ahead in Florida, ahead in North Carolina. Gosh, we're even tied in Wisconsin," Mr Romney said. Mr Romney also risked giving fresh ammunition to Democrat attempts to paint him as an elitist, by describing "middle income" as people earning "$250,000 or less" (£154,000) - a figure five times the US median income of $52,000. Mr Romney attracted some derision for the remark to ABC News, although supporters point out that Mr Obama has used the same $250,000 threshold to separate ordinary earners from the 'rich" - on whom, unlike Republicans, he wants to raise taxes. On the campaign trail, Mr Romney has returned his focus to the economy, although he attempted to take back some ground on foreign policy, sending out surrogates to argue that the Middle East protests would not have happened under a Romney administration. Richard Williamson, a key adviser who is a former assistant secretary of state and ambassador, compared Mr Obama's international leadership to Jimmy Carter, and accused him of failing to nurture a proper relationship with Egypt's new government. The president can't even keep track of who's our ally or not. This is amateur hour," Mr Williamson told the Washington Post, adding "For the first time since Jimmy Carter, we've had an American ambassador assassinated." He added that Mr Romney would have taken a tougher line with Iran, been quicker to arm Syrian rebel groups and demanded more of Egypt's new government in return for US financial support. In reply, the Obama campaign accused Mr Romney of trying to "shamelessly politicise a sensitive international situation" while demonstrating that he was "not at all prepared" to manage the kinds of crises faced by a US president. Separately, Mr Romney also drew fire from Beijing yesterday after putting out an advertisement attacking Mr Obama for his failure get tough with China for its predatory trade policies and declare the world's second-largest economy a currency manipulator. The attack drew fierce criticism from China's state-run news organisations, who said they were "false as they are foolish," accusing Mr Romney of "mud-slinging" tactics that could cause a trade war between the world's two largest economies. "It is ironic that a considerable portion of this China-battering politician's wealth was actually obtained by doing business with Chinese companies before he entered politics," added the commentary from the official Xinhua news agency.