Romney winning independents 59%-35%...

◼ According to a new CNN poll, Romney is beating President Obama 59 percent to 35 percent among independents even when third party candidates are included. The poll has the race deadlocked at 49 percent, but the sample includes 11 percent more Democrats than Republicans, 41 percent to 30 percent, a bigger gap than recent elections have witnessed. - Paul Bedard/Washington Examiner

What's more, the poll found a slight edge for Romney when it came to those who call themselves "very enthusiastic" about voting. In that category, Romney beats Obama 42 percent to 37 percent.

"We are winning with independents and enthusiasm goes to us," said a Romney associate, who also pointed to the huge, 20,000-30,000 strong crowd that greeted Romney in Pennsylvania Sunday night as proof the Republican had regained momentum.

"If it's tied overall and we are crushing with independents and have enthusiasm on our side, and we get 30,000 to show up in Pennsylvania," a GOP advisor said, the election should turn to Romney.

DRUDGE HEADLINES:

ABCWASHPOST: O 49% R 48%...
GALLUP SWING: O 48% R 48%...
RASMUSSEN: R 49% O 48%...
CNN: TIED [WITH D+11]...
Romney winning independents 59%-35%...
PEW: O 48% R 45% [WITH D+6]...
FL: R 52% O 47%...
MI: R 47% O 46%...
VA: R 50% O 48%...
OH: O 49% R 49%...

◼ Why Romney Will Win - Fred Barnes/Weekly Standard

Mitt Romney will win. The tie in the polls goes to the challenger. Here’s why:

Enthusiasm. It matters enormously, and it’s disproportionately on the Republican side, in good measure because of an intense desire to defeat President Obama....

Ground game. The Obama get-out-the-vote drive (GOTV) is not quite the powerful juggernaut it was in 2008 and the Republican effort is far better than four years ago. The Republican National Committee isn’t alone this time. Americans for Prosperity and a coalition of a dozen conservative groups—from the National Rifle Association to the Republican Jewish Coalition—have put together a massive GOTV effort focused on swing voters in key states. They’ve averaged 1.8 million phone calls per day in recent days.

Undecideds. Undecided voters are thought to vote disproportionately for the challenger over a sitting president. In truth, there’s no empirical evidence for this widely acknowledged tendency. But to the extent it exists, it helps Romney. Goeas, for one, figures most still undecided voters simply won’t vote. ... More at the link.

◼ Poll Shows Romney Winning High Water Mark for Libertarian Vote - David Kirby/CATO

◼ I'm Even More Confident That Mitt Will Win - David Limbaugh/Townhall