The scale of Obama's humiliation revealed: Romney scores 52-point debate victory - the BIGGEST in Gallup poll history

Romney also enjoyed a five-point national poll swing putting him level pegging with Obama at 47%

Even among Democrats, 49 per cent thought Romney was the winner with only 39 per cent of his own supporters saying Obama had won the day

Latest: Pew Research Center reported Romney taking a four-point lead among likely voters since the debate - 12-point swing from mid-September





Mitt Romney won the first presidential debate by a whopping 52-point margin according to Gallup - the most resounding margin since the polling giant began tracking debates 20 years ago.

The stunning judgement on the debate came as a bombshell Pew national poll put Romney four points ahead of President Barack Obama by 49 to 45 points - a huge swing of 12 points from mid-September, when Pew found Obama leading by 51 to 43 points.

In Gallup debate results published today, three times more people thought Romney did a better job than Obama in last week's so-called Duel in Denver presidential debate.

The poll about the Wednesday night's debate in Denver, watched by 67 million people, was conducted on Thursday and Friday. Of those who watched, 72 per cent thought Romney did a better job compared to 20 per cent for Obama.

Meanwhile, the respected Pew Research Center reported the most dramatic shift in a national poll during the entire general election campaign, with Romney’s fortunes improving in almost every respect. The center reported also pulling even with Obama on 46 per cent among registered voters and taking the lead by three points among likely voters.

Thumping: An astonishing 52% more people thought Romney did a good job in the debate than Obama

Thumping: Three times more people thought Romney did a good job in the debate than Obama

One-sided: Even among Democrats, 49 per cent thought Romney was the winner with only 39 per cent of Obama's own party stating that he was victorious.

Even among Democrats, 49 per cent thought Romney was the winner with only 39 per cent of Obama's own party stating that he was victorious.

The previous largest margin was 42 points for Bill Clinton over President George H.W. Bush in the 1992 town hall debate in which Bush famously looked at his watch and Clinton proved masterful in expressing empathy for ordinary voters.

Double blow: Gallup polls out today also showed a five-point swing towards Romney among voters

Historic: The previous largest margin was 42 points for Bill Clinton over President George H.W. Bush in the 1992 town hall debate in which Bush famously looked at his watch

At the same time, Gallup detected a five-point national poll swing from Obama to Romney, putting the two candidates on level pegging at 47 percentage points each over the three days after the debate and halting the movements towards Obama since the Democratic convention.

According to Pew, Romney's personal image has improved with favourable rating hitting 50 per cent registered voters for the first time in a Pew survey and up five points since September. At the same, Obama’s personal favourability has dropped six points to 49 per cent.

Pew found that Romney made substantial gains over the past month among women, whites and those younger than 50. He even drew level among women, where Obama has held a clear advantage for months and by 18 points a month ago. Soaked: Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney reaches to shakes hands after speaking at a campaign rally in a downpour in Newport News, Virginia

Bounce: The Romney campaign has been invigorated since last week's debate. Here the presidential hopeful entertains school children in Fairfax, Virginia today.

High Five: Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., greets supporters as he arrives for a campaign event at Oakland University, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012 in Rochester, Michigan Party: Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, speaks during a campaign event at Oakland University, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012 in Rochester, Mich. Recording artist Kid Rock, right, introduced him

Pointing Fingers: President Barack Obama appears at a fundraising concert and rally at the San Francisco, California's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Monday, October 8, 2012. The evening included musical performances by John Legend and Michael Franti Pressure's On: President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign event on Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, in San Francisco Turnaround: The Pew Research Center reported the most dramatic shift in a national poll during the entire general election campaign

Likeability: romney's personal image has improved with favourable rating among half of registered voters for the first time The debate survey is a welcome turnaround for Romney from the Gallup poll taken after the Republican convention that found his speech was the worst received of all major party nominees stretching back to Bob Dole, the GOP candidate in 1996. Some 37 per cent of people found Romney speech ‘Ok’, ‘poor’ or ‘terrible’. Military vote: Romney today made a foreign policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute saying Obama had been 'passive' on Middle East leadership Pew registered a 46 per cent margin of victory in the debate for Romney with 66 per cent of registered voters saying he did the better job in Denver and 20 per cent saying Obama prevailed. Immediately after the debate, a snap CNN poll found that 67 per cent believed Romney won compared to 25 per cent who said Obama was the victory. Another instant poll by CBS gave Romney 46 per cent, 22 per cent for Obama and 32 per cent a tie. President Barack Obama walks with Cesar Chavez's widow and son as he prepares to dedicate a monument to the legendary union founder Barack Obama, accompanied by Cesar Chavez' widow, Helen F. Chavez, places a special "Cesar Chavez" red rose at the gravesite where the union founder was laid to rest in 1993

Forward? President Obama, campaigning today in Keene, California, holding the hands of the widow of Cesar E. Chavez, Helen F. Chavez, in Keene, California, has seen his personal favourability drop six points to 49 per cent, according to Pew

Trouble on the horizon: Obama has seen five points wiped off his lead in the polls