Poll: White House race still even, despite Bain attacks

The race for the White House remains a dead heat, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll, despite several weeks of tough attacks by Democrats on Republican Mitt Romney's tenure at the private equity firm Bain Capital and his refusal to release more of his tax returns.

The poll shows Romney at 47 percent and Obama at 46 percent among registered voters, a difference that's within the poll's three-point margin of error.

Most voters, 60 percent, say Romney's experience at Bain will not influence their decision. Even more, 73 percent, say Romney's personal wealth will not be a factor.

However, about one in five voters say these issues will make them less likely to support Romney.

Romney gets the edge over Obama on handling the economy, 49 percent to 41 percent, but Obama is seen as doing more to help the middle class, by a margin of 52 percent to 38 percent.

Slightly more than half of those polled say Romney's policies favor the rich.

A majority of voters say Obama's polices have contributed to some degree to the nation's economic downturn. Far more, however, place the blame on his predecessor, former President George W. Bush.