Polls Show Obama Ahead in Key States
DICK TRAUM, CNN HERO: Working out in Central Park is the best time of the day for me. It gives me an opportunity to test myself. You feel like you could do anything. Back in 1965, I got hit by a car, and I ended up losing my leg. I didn't see it as holding me back. It just wasn't a big issue. In 1976, I became the first amputee to run the New York City Marathon. It was probably the best day of my life. And I just felt this joy can be shared with others. I'm Dick Traum, and I help people with disabilities achieve their potential through sports. How many people here are doing the New York City Marathon? Virtually everybody who is a member of Achilles has a vulnerability. People come to Achilles and we match them with a guides.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MAN: He just did 16 miles!</s>TRAUM: The atmosphere is social. There is jokes and laughter. It truly is a family.</s>UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I had a stroke in 1980. When I started, I could only walk one post to another post. And now I did 20 New York City marathons. Dick helped me realize I can do anything in my life many.</s>TRAUM: We change the way people perceive themselves. And you see the glow. There is nothing in the world that I have more fun doing.</s>LEMON: Well, all year we have introduced you to remarkable people who are changing the world. Next Thursday, we will be announcing this year's top ten CNN heroes on CNN.com. And you can get to help decide which one will be the CNN hero of the year for 2012. All ten will be honored live at CNN heroes all start tribute hosted by our very own Anderson Cooper. It is almost the bottom of the hour right now. We're going to get you up to speed on the headlines. This is just in to CNN, the U.S. State Department is putting out brand-new strong warnings to people either in the countries of Sudan and Tunisia, or are planning to travel there. State Department says, get out if you're there, and stay out if you're not. Now according to the official, U.S. government travel warning, terrorists groups have made threats against Americans in those countries. Also today, the families and dependents of U.S. government employees in Sudan were all ordered out again for safety reasons. Throughout the Arab world, voices are still being raised in anger against the United States. But the protests in Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt have been smaller in size and lower in volume today. A mob started to form near the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, but security forces broke it up. A U.S. made film that's considered insulting to Islam with a deadly fire among Muslim, Muslims protesters this week. The Taliban says, they are responsible for the deaths of two United States marines, it happened in Helmand Province, and overnight assault at a joint U.S. and British base, the same base where British Prince Harry is staying. The Taliban has threatened to capture or kill Prince Harry during his deployment. The coalition says, all the Taliban fighters except one were killed. It's a quite day on the campaign trail, Mitt Romney, President Obama stayed close to home today. The President mourning the four Americans killed in Libya, in his weekly radio address. New polls show that President Obama is a slight advantage in several battle ground states. You'll hear John King's in-depth report on battleground states and just a couple of minutes here on CNN. A dispute over an island chain led to a heated protest in Beijing today. Protesters aimed -- with anger at the embassy there. They want Japan to abandon its claim to a chain of islands in the East China Sea. Both nations say, the islands belong to them.</s>LEMON: The Russian opposition is sending a message to President Vladimir Putin: They're down, but they're not out. Thousands marched through Moscow today. Some protesters raised banners that read, "Putin is a parasite." It was the opposition's first major rally against Putin since June. It's no secret that the election in November will come down to a handful of states. In those places, the numbers currently do not look good for Mitt Romney. CNN's John King does the math for us -- John?</s>JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Several new national polls and a half dozen state polls from key battlegrounds tell us this, heading into the final seven weeks, still a close race for president, but you have to a slight advantage for the incumbent, President Obama, heading into the critical states. Let's look at these battleground state polls. Let's start out in Colorado. A very tight race here. An American Research Group Poll has the president on top. That is within the poll's margin of error. You have to say a dead heat in Colorado, perhaps a slight advantage for the president. Now let's come to the Midwest and start with Michigan, the state where Mitt Romney was born there. His dad once was governor. The Republicans really thought they could put this battleground state in play. But look at this poll from Epic MAR this weekend. 10-point advantage for the president. That probably explains why Republican super PACs that had been spending in Michigan decided to pull out. The Romney campaign says it has not given up. But a decided advantage in the state of Michigan. Which makes Ohio all the more important. No Republican in modern times has won the White House without winning the state of Ohio. A mixed verdict is you look at the new polls out of the state of Ohio. An American Research Group polls showing a dead heat. the president with a slight advantage but that's within the poll's margin of error. The Romney campaign says this is how they see the state of Ohio. But an NBC/"Wall Street Journal"/Marist poll, at the close of the week, had a seven-point advantage for the president. The Romney campaign says the numbers are off. The Obama campaign encouraged, they say, they insist Ohio is trending their way. That is a key voice in the Midwest. Let's come over toward the smaller battleground state. up here, the state of New Hampshire. Again, Romney has a vacation home here. Five-point advantage for the president in the state he carried back in 2008. A state Romney doesn't necessarily have to win, but it figures prominently for him. And a slight advantage, yes, close, but another slight advantage for the president. And in Virginia, what do you see again? A five-point advantage for the president. This is the NBC/Marist/"Wall Street Journal" poll. This is very close, competitive. But you have another battleground state, yet another battleground state where the same thing is happening. A slight advantage for the president. And not to sound like a broken record, but let's bring up the state of Florida. what do you get? Yet again, a five-point advantage for the president in a very, very key battleground state there. You add it all up, coming to Colorado, to the east, down to Florida, in each state, yes, they're very competitive. The president has an advantage. What does that do to the race that matters most, the race with to 270 electoral votes? We start with the president at 237. Dark blue, strong Obama states. light blue, leaning Obama. 191 for Governor Romney. Same think, dark red, strong for Romney. Light red leaning his way. Here is why the polls tell us so much, it matters so much going into the final stretch. The president leading in Ohio. Governor Romney has to win this state. If we turn the state blue, it puts the president on the door step of winning re-election. if the president carried Ohio and if that Florida poll also held up, if nothing else changed, game over. That would put the president over the top. Those two states, biggest prize of the battleground states are key going into the stretch. Let's stretch it out. Hypothetically, let's say Governor Romney carries the state of Florida. Even then, look, if the president keeps Ohio, he's at 255 so he could get there easily. If he wins Ohio, all he needs is to take the state of Wisconsin, and again, game over for the president. That is why, as I put these back where they are, toss-up states. That is why Ohio is so important for Governor Romney. If he loses this state, the math is almost impossible. So as you head into the final stretch and see all the battlegrounds, you see slight advantage for the president, still competitive, what does it tell you? Governor Romney can fight them state by state, or change the race with some national change in the dynamic. His best opportunity for that -- next month's three debates.</s>LEMON: John King, magic wall. Thank you, sir. Get an up-close-and-personal look at the two men vying for the White House. Find out tonight, beginning at 8:00 eastern with "Romney Revealed: Family, Faith and the Road to Power," followed by "Obama Revealed: The Man, the President" at 9:30 tonight on CNN. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg says no to big sugary drinks in the Big Apple. But is this the nanny state at work? And what's next?