That's the Obama campaign team, rolling on the floor, laughing their butts off at the constant stream of Republican bloopers.
Bill Burton’s moment came a week and a half ago while he was in his family room watching Mr. Romney take Newt Gingrich to task for talking about putting a colony on the moon. If someone made such a proposal to him, Mr. Romney said, “I’d say, ‘You’re fired.’ ”
Both moments were perceived by the Obama re-election campaign as another gift from Mr. Romney — now dubbed “the gift that keeps on giving” by some on the Obama team. “Just when you thought we had enough videotape about him firing people, he gives you one more,” Mr. Burton, who leads a political action committee backing the president, said before laughing.
In the rarefied world that is dedicated to getting Mr. Obama re-elected, the battle has never been viewed through the prism of how to beat Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum or Ron Paul. It has always been about Mitt Romney. ...NYT
Gallup shows Romney and Obama in about the same position in the polls. But with the help Newt Gingrich is giving Obama, the Obama team just gets happier and happier.
Last month, Mr. Gingrich revived the story of a family road trip 25 years ago in which Mr. Romney strapped his dog, Seamus — in a dog carrier — atop the station wagon for the 12-hour drive from Boston to Ontario, Canada. As the Obama campaign undoubtedly will, Mr. Gingrich used Mr. Romney’s own words against him.
“This is a completely air-tight kennel, mounted on the top of our car,” the ad shows Mr. Romney saying in a Fox News clip. “He was in a kennel at home a great deal of time as well. It was where he was comfortable.”
Mr. Gingrich’s ad then showed white words flashing across a black screen: “Imagine what Obama would do with a candidate like that.”
Two weeks later, David Axelrod, a top campaign adviser to Mr. Obama, showed just what Mr. Obama would do. On Monday — the same day Obama backers began a Facebook page called “Pet Lovers for Obama” — Mr. Axelrod posted a West Wing photo of Mr. Obama and the first dog, Bo, cruising in “The Beast,” the armored limousine the president rides around in. “How loving owners transport their dogs,” Mr. Axelrod wrote. ...NYT
Responsible dog owners might add that, yes, "crating" your dog during a car trip does make the dog feel more secure -- though we'd draw the line at an "air-tight" kennel. Dog's gotta breathe, stupid. But crating... Well, let me know if you don't understand that part.
And yes, Bo is getting a very good deal. He has a huge, extended family in the White House who pay attention to him, fall all over him (probably in more ways than one).
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Well, not so fast there. Gallup's poll showing Obama and Romney at about even is now old news. It has been replaced by a new Washington Post/ABC poll this morning.
Boosted by improved public confidence in his economic stewardship, President Obama for the first time holds a clear edge over Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney in a hypothetical general-election matchup, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Romney, who notched his second consecutive victory Saturday by easily winning the Nevada caucuses, continues to solidify his position as the front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination. But as the contest has grown more negative, public impressions of the top Republican contenders have soured, as has the former Massachusetts governor’s standing as a general-election candidate. ...WaPo
It all depends on how the election is pictured in the minds of voters, how it's "framed."
If the fall campaign becomes largely a referendum on Obama’s tenure in office, as Republicans hope it will, he could struggle to win a second term — barring an economic recovery that vastly outperforms expectations. If, however, it becomes a choice between the incumbent and the challenger, as Obama advisers predict it will, the president’s prospects would be brighter. ...WaPo
The actual numbers? Well, 55% "disapprove" of the GOP's statements.
By better than 2 to 1, Americans say the more they learn about Romney, the less they like him. ...WaPo
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Ed Kilgore makes an interesting point about the WaPo/ABC poll ("a very influential one among opinion-leaders"). The election may not turn on "framing." It may be that facts -- an improvement in the economy among them -- may already be influencing voters.
The rising “re-elect” number [50%] is particularly significant, since it indicates the incumbent might have a decent chance of winning in November even if he does not succeed in making the election turn on negative perceptions of the Republican nominee. It’s worth noting that Obama’s “re-elect” percentage is currently higher than Bill Clinton’s was at an equivalent moment in his re-election year. ...Ed Kilgore, Washington Monthly
