Obama is looking good in the latest polls. A little uptick in the economy might just nail his win.
President Obama is struggling to convince voters that he deserves to win re-election based on his handling of the economy, but his empathy and personal appeal give him an edge over Mitt Romney in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, according to Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News polls.
The contours of a deeply competitive presidential race, with three months remaining until the election, are highlighted in the new surveys of likely voters in the three battleground states. Mr. Romney drew fairly even with Mr. Obama when voters were asked about managing the nation’s financial situation, but his candidacy remains tested by concerns over his business background and his reluctance to release more of his tax returns.
The polls in the three states, all of which Mr. Obama carried in 2008, offer a window into challenges and opportunities for both candidates as August begins and they prepare for their nominating conventions and the general election fight. Most paths to victory that the campaigns are pursuing include winning at least two of the states.
While independent voters break strongly for Mr. Obama in Pennsylvania, a state that Mr. Romney has been trying to make more competitive, they are closely split in Florida and Ohio. Of the coalition that Mr. Obama built to win the White House, independent voters remain a hurdle, with a little more than half in Florida and Ohio saying they disapprove of his job performance.
But a torrent of television advertising in the states, particularly in Ohio and Florida, appears to be resonating in Mr. Obama’s quest to define his Republican rival. The polls found that more voters say Mr. Romney’s experience was too focused on making profits at Bain Capital, the private equity firm he led, rather than the kind of experience that would help create jobs. ...NYT
The Obama campaign seems to have* managed to get across what many of us see as Romney's most obvious flaw: his lack of experience. The narrowness of Mitt Romney's experience has shown up in his trip abroad no less than his trips through "the heartland" -- in his stiff demeanor, in his unresponsiveness to others. He just plows ahead with vacant eyes, money crackling in his pockets and no indication that he's able to handle anything (except money).
Money's fine. But it's not economy. It's not even "culture." It has proven not to mean job security, at least not in the hands of Republicans. And it can't buy you love, particularly when you look right through people and or fire them without a backward glance.
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*Don't have TV so don't see political ads. Yeah, it's great!
