MITT THE LADIES' MAN? – AT 8:06 A.M. ET:  This is getting the political world's attention. 

(CNN) - Mitt Romney's support among registered voters who are women has grown and is slightly above President Barack Obama's, according to a poll released Monday.

The CBS News/New York Times poll shows Obama's support among female voters dropping five points over the last two months, from 49% to 44%. Romney is up 3 from 43% to 46% within that coveted demographic, according to the survey. The margin is still within the survey's sampling error, however.

Prior polling, including a mid-April CNN/ORC International poll, showed Obama ahead among women, with the CNN survey giving the president a 16-point advantage. That survey took place in the wake of a Democratic strategist and CNN contributor saying Romney's wife had "never worked a day in her life."

COMMENT:  We stress, as we always do, that polls are snapshots in time, that they often turn out to be wrong, that there's a margin of error, and that they change frequently.  You wouldn't want a medical diagnosis made by pollster.

That having been said, the numbers here are startling.  One candidate clearly has gone up, the other down, in approval among female voters.  If the polling is accurate, and represents any kind of trend, Obama will soon be in desperate trouble.  The gender gap (among women) is a vital part of his political strategy.  If it disappears, I don't know where he can make it up.

Combine this poll, please, with others that show Americans are deeply skeptical about Obama's sudden conversion to same-sex marriage, believing it to be about politics, not principle.  What a comedown for a man who was seen as walking on water four years ago.  I hope he has waterproof shoes.

May 15,  2012