Politics Romney - Is he ready?

Joniemack · May 29, 2012

And on to New Jersey where Anne can swap pregnancy stories with Snookie to wrap up the Jersey Shore vote.

redux said: ↑

What's next for Romney?

A political fundraiser with George Zimmerman to pander to the Stand Your Ground voters in Florida?
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Then on to New Jersey where Ann and Snookie can swap pregnancy stories to wrap up the Jersey Shore vote.

Tully Mars · May 30, 2012

Joniemack said: ↑

And on to New Jersey where Anne can swap pregnancy stories with Snookie to wrap up the Jersey Shore vote.

Then on to New Jersey where Ann and Snookie can swap pregnancy stories to wrap up the Jersey Shore vote.
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Given the demographics I think he'd be better hanging with some "Real Housewives" of somewhere. Or maybe he could go hunting with Ted? But he needs to get this phase done so he can morph into a swinging independent regular kind of guy.

redux · May 30, 2012

An app released by the Romney campaign late Tuesday allows user to create an e-postcard and then email it or post it online.

Poor Mitt cant get a break.

Baraka_Guru · May 30, 2012

*facepalm*

Tell me that's fake.

The "I'm with Mitt" has an "I'm with stupid" vibe to it.

Here's to high quality, highly accessible education for a better America.

This is a blessing in disguise perhaps?

Alistair · May 30, 2012

Amercia?

Bodkin van Horn · May 30, 2012

redux said: ↑

An app released by the Romney campaign late Tuesday allows user to create an e-postcard and then email it or post it online.

Poor Mitt cant get a break.
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That's such a horrible idea for an app (in the context of a presidential campaign). If I wasn't sure it was spyware, I'd install it and make a postcard using the fruits of my bowel-labor.

ASU2003 · May 30, 2012

https://p.twimg.com/AuHIZa7CAAEhGdf.jpg

How many people had to proof read this app? How many X-rated versions will be made? Even if the spelling was correct, it is still not the best idea.

Tully Mars · May 30, 2012

Alistair said: ↑

Amercia?
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The good news in this is we thought all along he was running for President of United States turns out he's wants to be the President of Amercia. Wonder if his fund raisers and contributors know of his plans?

Baraka_Guru · May 30, 2012

I just got a rather uncomfortable shudder.

Amercia sounds like a post-American Christian utopia.

Tully Mars · May 30, 2012

Not to worry. Just like after our civil war smalls groups of these folks will probably end up living in some all white community in South America. Or as they'll call it Amercia.

redux · May 30, 2012

Tully Mars said: ↑

Given the demographics I think he'd be better hanging with some "Real Housewives" of somewhere. Or maybe he could go hunting with Ted?....
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Ted Nugent?

Lead guitarist of the Amboy Dukes in the 60s (Journey to the Center of my Mind)
to
21st century gun nut (losing his mind )

"If Barack Obama becomes the president in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year..."If you can't go home and get everybody in your lives to clean house in this vile, evil America hated administration ..wiping its ass with the Constitution, I don't even know what you're made out of.....chops their heads off in November")

and proud "real American" and Romney supporter.

Baraka_Guru · May 30, 2012

Maybe Nugent has been drinking the same water Heston did.

Tully Mars · May 30, 2012

Yeah that Ted. Mitt could shoot the shit and some game out of season. He'd up his red neck numbers and raise some money from people he'll later fleece dry.

redux · May 30, 2012

Bodkin van Horn said: ↑

That's such a horrible idea for an app (in the context of a presidential campaign). If I wasn't sure it was spyware, I'd install it and make a postcard using the fruits of my bowel-labor.
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You got that right.

An app that overlays an official Romney campaign slogan on your own chosen photos or graphics and then prompts you to share the photo/graphic on Facebook and Twitter is asking for trouble.

Baraka_Guru · May 30, 2012

I predict a spinoff meme combining this and People of Walmart.

rogue49 · May 31, 2012

I still want to know is why Romney is not bragging on his time as Governor of Mass.
Any other politician would be one that like white on rice.
He's focus on himself as a businessman...his time at Bain.

The detective side of me wants to look into it further...

And now Obama is going to leverage it; so Romney better come up with a good song & tap dance for it soon.

Obama campaign attacks Romney’s record as Mass. governor
By Amy Gardner,

President Obama’s reelection campaign launched Part 2 of its strategy to discredit Republican challenger Mitt Romney this week, pouncing on his record as Massachusetts governor after more than two weeks of attacks on his years working in private equity.

The campaign released a five-page memo and a four-minute Web video Wednesday characterizing Romney’s leadership of Massachusetts as a failure. The Web video uses dire music and a series of interviews with local elected leaders to describe fees Romney raised, the increase in state debt during his tenure and the state’s ranking in job creation during his term (47th).

On Thursday, senior adviser David Axelrod will host a news conference in Boston in front of the statehouse at 11:30 a.m. to drive home his criticism of Romney’s record. State Republican leaders will try to preempt that appearance with their own news conference at the same location 90 minutes earlier, to “discuss Mitt Romney’s record of job creation.”

“When it comes to Mitt Romney and his economic philosophy, the facts are clear,” Axelrod wrote in the memo. “It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.”

The Romney campaign issued a statement criticizing Obama’s attacks and denying some of the details.

“Mitt Romney created more jobs in the state of Massachusetts than President Obama has for the entire nation,” spokeswoman Andrea Saul said. “President Obama has failed to meet his own goal of 6 percent unemployment and has a net negative record on job creation. We’re happy to compare the 4.7 percent unemployment rate Mitt Romney was able to accomplish. If President Obama had even half the job creation record of Mitt Romney, then he would be running on it.”

Obama’s pivot from a direct assault on Romney’s years with Bain Capital could alleviate some of the heartache from Democrats — and powerful counterattacks by Republicans — who see the anti-Bain approach as anti-capitalist.

But Democratic campaign advisers said criticizing Romney’s gubernatorial record adds heft to Obama’s claim that the Republican’s Bain years don’t qualify him to lead in the public sector.

Although it won’t be official until the party’s convention in August, Romney clinched the Republican nomination by winning the Texas primary on Tuesday. And Obama’s Chicago-based reelection team is wasting no time trying to shape voters’ views of him, as more and more of them begin to tune in.

Axelrod’s memo details how Romney made much the same pitch when he ran for governor in 2002 as he is making today in his presidential bid: that his experience in the private sector makes him uniquely qualified to lead government and create jobs.

“I’m the only candidate in this race who has a lifetime of experience in the private economy,” Romney says in a 2002 video to which the memo links. “I speak the language of business. I know how jobs are created.”

Axelrod then goes on to outline the ways in which Romney didn’t make good on his promise over four years as governor. Under Romney, the state’s job-creation ranking fell from 36th to 47th, and unemployment rose above the national average for the first time in a decade, according to the memo. (The Romney campaign countered that the Republican inherited a state that was losing jobs each month but left office at a time when the state was gaining jobs each month, and with unemployment lower than when he began).

The Obama memo also outlines (as does the video, with dramatic graphics) how the state’s “long-term” debt grew 16 percent. And it accuses Romney of raising fees on “middle-class families” while granting a tax break on the wealthiest — much like what the Republican has proposed to do as president, Obama officials said.

“We’ve seen this all before,” Axelrod wrote. “It’s the same formula that benefited a few but crashed our economy in the first place and undermined security for the middle class. Massachusetts couldn’t afford Romney Economics, and neither can the American economy.”

An Obama campaign spokesman wouldn’t say whether any advertising will accompany the new attack on Romney’s Massachusetts years. But the campaign made clear that there will be no letting up on Bain Capital, the private-equity firm that Romney co-founded, which Obama has sought to characterize as a corporate menace that placed profit ahead of all else when it took over companies and, in some cases, shut them down.

The attacks have alarmed some Democrats, particularly in battleground states such as Virginia, where large swaths of independent, business-minded voters could be turned off by what appears to some as an assault on private enterprise.

Obama has tried to make clear that he is not attacking private equity but rather questioning what Romney claims as his central qualification to be president. Focusing on profits rather than job creation is fine in the private sector, the Obama campaign has said — but it doesn’t qualify Romney to be president.

Obama will roll out more examples of companies that Bain took over and shuttered, notably in battleground states, campaign advisers said.
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Joniemack · May 31, 2012

rogue49 said: ↑

I still want to know is why Romney is not bragging on his time as Governor of Mass.
Any other politician would be one that like white on rice.
He's focus on himself as a businessman...his time at Bain.
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To me, it seems obvious. MA is a bastion of liberal Democrats who he managed to work fairly well with. (He compromised!) When you're looking to appeal to all things Red, Republican and Conservative, you avoid its contrast like the plague. Besides, the further he can distance himself from his time as the Gov of MA, the less he has to answer for his role in creating the original version of Obamacare.

I don't know how slamming Rpmney's record as governor is going to do much to help Obama. The points are valid but those still undecided are going to need more incentive than Romney's failures in running an expensive state with more than its share of liberal social programs.

What it will definitely do is keep the fact that he was the Governor of a very blue state in the discussion. Still, who is this going to influence? Majority of Democrats are voting Obama, Majority of Republicans are voting anti-Obama. Independents? I'm just not convinced this will be a deciding factor in their decision.

Obama needs to continue hammering home his opponent's lack of business ethics when it comes to the average worker (big money victims) and the small business employer (big money take-over targets). Ruthless without regard for the businesses he was taking over and dismantling or the number of employees he was putting out of a job. The message does not need to stray into anti-capitalist territory to accomplish this. If it does, the message hasn't been adequately fine-tuned. It can't hurt to bring up the issue of Romney's poor showing as Governor as a way to spotlight Romney as an ineffective leader in a government setting, but I would hope Obama doesn't intend riding to re-election on it.

Still, it will be interesting to see how Romney responds to it. He could end up making it more damaging for himself. It might be what the Obama campaign is hoping for.

If I was running Obama's campaign, I would have saved it for just a little while longer. Not give Romney 5 months to find an answer for it.

I know it probably can't be done effectively but finding a way to portray Gov. Romney as a spineless Republican who let liberal Democrats in MA walk all over him would be pretty cool too.

Tully Mars · Jun 1, 2012

I agree, with the voters Mitt needs to swift a lot from the compromises made in Mass. The people he's trying to maintain and swing his way are not looking for someone who'll work in a bi-partisan manner.

chipperaroo · Jun 12, 2012

Anybody notice how Romney's site is reminiscent of Obama's campaign against McCain? I haven't looked at 'Bama's yet. But I'll tell you this... Mitt's finicky temper is gonna cost him the election. And Mitt's campaign releases an app to send e-postcards (who would do this other than the most politically charged idiots?). I get one of those, and I'll block the sender (friend or not). Last but not least... this is the guy who ran Bain Capital, a business I've looked to and studied in school for good policy and practice (open your books), like you look to TI for ethics... anybody who knows anything about top-level business (if he's looking at Gov't this way), knows that you don't change crap-nothing for around the first 90 days, unless it's so severely broke, you have to fix it. The government is a big machine...it'll keep running, and transition periods are part of the hand-off (if Mitt wins). But signing things the first day... that's dumb... that shows that Mitt's not entirely with it on the business front anymore, and more about getting votes, and will be less about representation. I also worry about that temper of his once he gets into office. For some-odd reason, he reminds me a bit of Nixon.

rogue49 · Jun 21, 2012

It doesn't sound like Romney is connecting with many.
He needs to start not just doing talking points and ripping on Obama...but truly giving his policy and opinion.

Obama Leads in Poll as Voters View Romney as Out of Touch
By Julie Hirschfeld Davis - Jun 20, 2012

Barack Obama has opened a significant lead over Mitt Romney in a Bloomberg National Poll that reflects the presumed Republican nominee’s weaknesses more than the president’s strengths.

Obama leads Romney 53 percent to 40 percent among likely voters, even as the public gives him low marks on handling the economy and the deficit, and six in 10 say the nation is headed down the wrong track, according to the poll conducted June 15- 18.

The survey shows Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, has yet to repair the damage done to his image during the Republican primary. Thirty-nine percent of Americans view him favorably, about the same as when he announced his presidential candidacy last June, while 48 percent see him unfavorably -- a 17-percentage point jump during a nomination fight dominated by attacks ads. A majority of likely voters, 55 percent, view him as more out of touch with average Americans compared with 36 percent who say the president is more out of touch.

Taken together, the results suggest an unsettled political environment for both Obama and Romney five months from the November election, with voters choosing for now to stick with a president they say is flawed rather than backing a challenger they regard as undefined and disconnected.

Importance of Turnout

“You can see in these data how important turnout will be,” says J. Ann Selzer of Des Moines, Iowa-based Selzer & Co. who directed the poll. “Those most enthusiastic about the election are more supportive of Romney, but Obama’s voters are more locked into their candidate than Romney’s. Building resolve to vote and making the vote stick is job one, and both candidates face obstacles toward getting that done.”

The presidential race is roughly tied among the most enthusiastic voters, 49 percent of whom back Romney compared with 48 percent for Obama. Still, Romney inspires far less enthusiasm even among his supporters than does Obama, with 35 percent of Romney backers saying their support for him is “very strong,” compared with 51 percent of Obama backers who say so.

“I would rather choose to vote for someone else, but there’s no one but Obama,” says John Sunde, a 57-year-old Verizon central office technician from Brentwood, New York, when asked which candidate would get his vote. “He hasn’t fulfilled a lot of his campaign promises, but I would vote for him anyway because Romney would be extremely destructive for this country.”

Could Do Worse

Sunde, an independent, gives Obama low grades for dealing with the economy yet says Romney would do worse. “His perspective is you just let the free market take care of everything, and we’ll go right down the toilet drain, and everything -- all the jobs -- will go straight to Asia,” Sunde says of Romney.

The poll of 1,002 adults has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points for the full sample. Questions asked of the 734 likely voters have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. Its findings are at odds with other recent national surveys that have found the two candidates tied or shown a slight advantage for Obama or Romney.
Poll Details

Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed in Bloomberg’s poll say they consider themselves Democrats or independents who lean that way and 33 percent consider themselves Republicans or independents who lean Republican, a 5-point Democratic advantage. In 2008, the presidential election exit polls showed the Democrats with a 7-point advantage.

The Democratic advantage in the Washington Post’s May poll sample was 10 points, while the one in the New York Times’ April survey was 8 points and the Wall Street Journal’s May poll was 7 points.

In the Bloomberg Poll, 53 percent of those surveyed were women and 67 percent were white, in line with other national polls. Obama fares better among white voters than he does in other surveys, drawing support from 43 percent compared with 50 percent backing Romney.

Beyond Romney’s low favorability ratings, the poll reflects perceived weaknesses for the Republican challenger both in style and substance. Only 31 percent of likely voters say they’d want to sit next to Romney on a long airplane flight, compared with 57 percent who prefer Obama as a seat mate.

Romney Weak Spots

About a third of likely voters rate Romney best at understanding their problems and struggles, and dealing with world leaders, while Obama draws majorities on both. And just 34 percent of respondents prefer Romney to Obama in appearing regularly on their TV and computer screens for the next four years; the president is the pick of 54 percent. Obama’s favorability ratings are the reverse of Romney’s, with 55 percent of Americans viewing the president positively, while 42 percent don’t.

In a bad sign for Obama, a much smaller plurality, 48 percent, of likely voters say he would be best at getting the economy going, while 43 percent say Romney would do better.

Fifty-three percent of Americans approve of the job Obama is doing in the White House -- the first time since March 2011 that he has broken the historic 50 percent threshold for U.S. presidents who have won re-election; 44 percent disapprove of his service.

His performance rating on creating jobs -- 46 percent approve, while 48 percent disapprove -- matches its high mark in July 2010, and has risen 10 points from his low point in September 2011. A plurality of 45 percent of Americans identify jobs and unemployment as the “most important issue” facing the country.

Obama Warning Signs

More troubling for Obama’s re-election bid, just 31 percent say the nation is headed in the right direction compared with 62 percent who say it’s on the wrong track.

On the economy, just 43 percent approve of Obama’s performance, compared with 53 who disapprove. He fares even more poorly on the budget deficit, where 60 percent disapprove of the job he’s doing compared with 32 percent who approve.

“Obama is the lesser of two evils,” says Rosean Smith, 38, an independent voter from Columbus, Ohio, who says Obama faced unrealistic expectations on the economy. “He was basically handed a sick drug baby and expected to make a genius out of it overnight.”

Smith, a graduate student and mother of six who says she has applied for 80 jobs in the last eight months and landed none, says while Obama is “way in over his head” on the economy, she doesn’t trust Romney to do better.

Best Background

The poll also undercuts Romney’s central argument for his candidacy, suggesting that his background as a private-equity executive isn’t seen by voters as his greatest strength. Asked to name the most important qualification on Romney’s resume, a plurality of 41 percent cite his experience as governor of Massachusetts, while 34 percent say it’s his business experience at the Boston-based firm Bain Capital LLC.

Jeff Angleton, a 40-year-old construction business owner in Huxton, Colorado, who is backing Romney, says he has had to fire 27 of the 52 people who work at his company because of lack of projects. Angleton, an independent, says he is “scared” of what the future holds if Obama stays in office, though not confident that things will get better if Romney takes the White House.

“I think the guy is a little bit out of touch, because he has too much money to understand what a guy like me deals with,” Angleton says of Romney.

Creating Jobs

Likely voters are split over whether Romney’s business experience made him better-prepared to create jobs as president, with 49 percent saying it doesn’t and 45 percent saying it does.

They are also divided on whether it’s a good idea to elect a corporate chief executive officer as president, with 44 saying it is while 40 percent say it’s not.

Asked how they plan to vote for Congress, 48 percent of likely voters say they’d choose a Democrat compared with 41 percent who would back a Republican. The Democratic Party also scores better than its counterpart, with 50 percent of Americans viewing it favorably while 43 percent don’t. The Republican Party’s favorability rating drops 3 percentage points from Bloomberg’s March poll to 41 percent, while its unfavorability stands at 50 percent.

The public also has a much rosier view of the last Democratic president than it does the last Republican. Former President Bill Clinton is viewed favorably by 69 percent and unfavorably by 25 percent, while former President George W. Bush is seen favorably by 44 percent compared with 51 percent who view him negatively.

Donald Trump, who stood beside Romney at a Las Vegas fundraiser last month and says he’s still skeptical about the authenticity of Obama’s U.S. birth certificate, is seen favorably by 33 percent. Fifty-five percent have an unfavorable view of the real estate magnate and reality TV star who flirted with his own presidential run before backing the presumptive Republican nominee.

®2012 BLOOMBERG L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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