It's the Campaign, Stupid!
Romney's campaign is shaping up to be the worst in memory. It's that and not Obama's job performance, record or leadership skills that driving Mitt's drop in polls.
It's the Campaign, Stupid!
John Baer, Daily News Political Columnist
I really don't want to pile on Mitt while his run continues a downward spiral, but his campaign is shaping up as among the worst in memory.
He is, after all, running against an incumbent who failed a pledge to cut the deficit in half, who faces foreign policy fires abroad, including a growing crisis over a nuclear Iran, and who famously, though somewhat awkwardly, said in 2009 with regard to fixing the economy, "If I dont have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition."
And yet, where are we?
Daily tracking by Gallup now shows the president with six-point lead (50-44) nationally in a race that for so long was a virtual tie. And this comes as poll after poll shows widening leads for Obama in states such as Florida and Ohio that are critical to the Electoral College vote total needed to win the presidency.
It's not that the economy got better or that governance improved or that the unemployed got jobs or that Obama, as pledged, change the ways Washington.
It's that Romney's campaign is horrible. It consistently allows the Obama camp and the media to direct the narrative -- Mitt's money, Mitt's tax returns, Mitt's wife's horse, Mitt's corporate past, Mitt's personal awkwardness, Mitt's GOP pals talking about "legitmate rape," Mitt's Clint Eastwood, etc. -- instead of staying on and riding hard the message of fixing the economy.
From the start, right after sewing up the GOP nomination, Romney allowed Obama to define him as an uncaring corporate raider who hides his wealth in foreign investments. It wasn't until the mostly-botched Republican convention that Romney even tried to humanize himself with stories of his family and faith.
Then, in what might well be the moment most remembered from campaign 2012, he reinforces the Obama campaign's portrayal with that 47-percent remark. And while I assume when he said, "My job is not to worry about those people," he was talking politically, meaning his campaign needs to attract the other 53-percent, there's no escaping the damage done by the next sentence: "I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
Worse, just as there was no good Romney campaign answer to the early Obama efforts to define Mitt, there was no good response to the 47-percent comments. Mitt saying it "was not elegantly stated" didn't stop a week-long torrent of criticism and campaign free-fall.
Then, nine days later, Romney's campaign released a new ad, "Too Many Americans," with Mitt speaking directly into the camera. It's good. It talks about poverty growth, the increase in folks on food stamps, the promise to enact policies to create jobs. And it says "compassion" shouldn't be measured by the number of people on welfare but by getting people off welfare and into jobs. It ends with Mitt saying, "We can't afford another four years like the last four years.
You can see the ad here.
Problem is, just like earlier in the campaign season, it comes after the damage is done. It's another example of the Romney camp apparently being tone-deaf to what plays well politically and what hurts its candidate directly.
Obama's not winning. Romney's losing. And it's because of his stupid campaign.
- Dang straight, @high water. @lefty is Public Enemy #1.
And Cicero was great, as was Palestra.
Clinton is the savior, but the man is a genius and was a great president. We can only dream of the good old Clinton days.— sophistry - How poor is the Obama campaign and presidency when he, the incumbant, is running against who the MainStream media has proclaimed the WORST candidate EVER and, in some polls, they aer even.— SammyMaudlin
- Palestra Jon is a very intelligent human being.— WantToKnow
- Got Obhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tpAOwJvTOioama phone---— tr88
- Lefty's comments are usually ALWAYS right on the money! Love the guy!— gone with the wind
- Lefty is a righty.— BobSG
- I know. — gone with the wind
- Pass the butter and jelly. Romney is toast.— Jon Corleone
- To Mikeb7124:
You are a right wing bigot and you know it. Unfortunately you will have to wait until 2024 for your next chance to put your ilk in the White House.— BobSG - In truth, Mitt Ryan reminds me of Twilight Zone (original version) meets Mad Men. It is as if they live in some parallel universe were B.S. is the gold standard and everything that looks and feels un-American is the norm. Where do these clowns come from and how do they seriously expect to win? The RNC looked more like Norway than America. You could have turned off the volume added subtitles and told international audiences that it was Greenland and they would have believed it. I mean just that alone should signal "FAIL" in that camp. Good grief, when will they get a clue?— WantToKnow
- What Obama fans and the Obama loving media have tried to do is to make the campaign's focus as narrow and as juvenile as possible. Instead of talking about what Obama has done the past 4 years and his plans for the next 4 years and Romney's plans for the next 4 years, they've dumbed it down to a high school level. Now it's who said what today and who had the better zinger and who found the most incriminating video. It's like the day to day mechanics of the campaign are more important than the issues. Of course Obama benefits when we don't talk issues and even if the day to day stumbles happen, most of the time Romney's are highlighted and Obama's are downplayed.— Phillies2008WSChamps
- What exactly are Romney's 'plans' for the next 4 years? This much we know from his very own words: Foreign "policy": Kick the can down the road. Economy: return to the failed Bush-era deregulation and tax cuts that devastated the economy. Repeal heathcare reform (or not, and just keep some "good' parts), Jobs = do nothing. People have hear all about Romney's "plans", and they have rejected them from the start - he's never led in any national polling and he won't ever sit in the Oval Office. — Eldred G Peck
- Romney’s budget plan would kill millions of jobs over the next 2 years, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The vulture capitalist is a proven job killer and this well proves it. He is flat out exactly what this country DOES NOT need after struggling against GOP obstruction, and finally getting back on track again. — MrsSimon
- Pro or con, the arguments here are insightful nonetheless. Agreed?— WantToKnow
John is the author of the book "On The Front Lines of Pennsylvania Politics: Twenty-Five Years of Keystone Reporting" (The History Press, 2012). Reach John at baerj@phillynews.com.
