Romney 45%, Obama 39%

So says Rasmussen:

Mitt Romney has now jumped to his biggest lead ever over President Obama in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup. It’s also the biggest lead a named Republican candidate has held over the incumbent in Rasmussen Reports surveying to date.

The latest national telephone survey finds that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters favor the former Massachusetts governor, while 39% prefer the president. Ten percent (10%) like some other candidate in the race, and six percent (6%) are undecided. ...

A week ago, Romney trailed Obama 44% to 41%. The week before that, he held a slight 43% to 42% edge over the president. The two candidates have been essentially tied in regular surveys since January, but Romney remains the only GOP hopeful to lead Obama in more than one survey. Despite Romney’s current six-point lead, his latest level of support is in line with the 38% to 45% he has earned in matchups with the president this year. However, Obama’s 39% is a new low: Prior to this survey, his support has ranged from 40% to 46% in matchups with Romney.

Romney has not been subject to the coordinated assault that other GOP candidates have, so I think these numbers are soft. They're likely to go back-and-forth quite a bit, and should Romney actually get the nomination, the full-scale assault on his record in Massachusetts, his religion, and everything else will begin in earnest.

However, what this tells me is if we can keep the election focused on Obama, his policies, and his record in office, he loses.