Poor fella! He's having a nasty time. When it rains, it pours, etc. etc. And now Romney's problems are beginning to rain on just about every Republican candidate across the nation.
“The presidential thing is bound to have an impact on every election,” Tommy G. Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor who is the Republican candidate for the Senate there, said in an interview on Wednesday with a Madison television station. “If your standard-bearer for the presidency is not doing well, it’s going to reflect on the down ballot.” ...NYT
Romney himself seems unable to nail even North Carolina or Nevada. And how about Ohio? Iffy at best. Colorado? Slipping away. On-the-ground campaigning isn't working -- sometimes just isn't there. In Colorado, "They want to vote against Obama, but they haven’t quite come to the point where they’re going to vote for Romney..."
Florida?
As Mr. Romney headed to an evening fund-raiser in West Palm Beach, Fla., a reporter asked if he would be campaigning more extensively.
“Ha, ha. We’re in the stretch, aren’t we?” Mr. Romney said before promptly changing the subject and pointing to the sky. “Look at those clouds. It’s beautiful. Look at those things.”...NYT
That seems to sum up the pre-debate atmosphere. I bet there are Republicans who sincerely believe that Romney is a stooge, sent by Satan (or Democrats... same thing), to ruin their chances for taking back the White House. And now they're having to get used to the idea that they may remain a minority in the Senate. And god only knows what will happen in the House.
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Romney's money situation doesn't look all that healthy either.
Mitt Romney entered the final months of the presidential campaign with a cash balance of just $35 million, racing to find new large donors and rally low-dollar contributors in August even while he raised tens of millions of dollars for the Republican Party. ...NYT
Meanwhile, the Romney campaign has been spending most of what they have on ads and other stuff. So while there is plenty of money out there, available to Republicans, getting that money isn't so easy.
Mr. Romney and the Republican committee spent more on advertising in August, $47.7 million, than in July, $36.8 million. And combined spending on turnout, strategy and research nearly doubled from July to August. Spending on computer equipment and support reached a million in August, twenty times the amount spent in July, while payroll went to $4.1 million from $2.5 million.
Another set of expenditures is likely to draw grumbles from Mr. Romney’s allies given his campaign’s current struggles: The day after accepting the Republican nomination, Mr. Romney gave what appeared to be $192,440 in bonuses to senior campaign staff members. At least nine aides received payments on Aug. 31 well in excess of their typical biweekly salaries, including $25,000 each for Matthew Rhoades, the campaign manager; Lanhee Chen, a policy adviser; and Katie Biber, the general counsel. Rich Beeson, the political director, received $37,500. ...NYT
Meanwhile, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, the Obama campaign is raking it in.
The super PAC backing Mr. Obama also raised more than its Republican counterpart in August, a rare head-to-head win for Democrats in an arena overwhelmingly dominated by Republican groups and donors.
Priorities USA Action, founded by former aides to Mr. Obama, raised a record $10 million in August, compared with the $7 million raised by Restore Our Future, the super PAC founded by former Romney aides....NYT
The Washington Post's report on Romney's woes adds this:
In addition to his cash-flow problems, Romney had more trouble raising money from grass-roots donors in August, with just 14 percent of his total coming from contributions of $200 or less — a significant drop from the month before. Obama collected about 30 percent of his August haul from donors giving $200 or less.
Romney, however, continued to do well among the wealthiest donors who are able to legally give more than $70,000 to the Romney campaign, the RNC and associated committees. Romney and the RNC say they had a total of $170 million in cash on hand at the end of August.
Most of that money, however, went to allied committees and remains outside Romney’s direct control, which could have serious ramifications for ad purchases and other strategy in the last six weeks of the campaign. Party committees and outside groups do not qualify for the lowest ad rates, meaning their money does not go as far in media spending. ...WaPo
