If one listened only to the Washington Beltway echo chamber this week, the presidential campaign is over.
Not only did Romney ‘mishandle’ the sacking of the U.S. embassy in Libya, but he’s also “lost Ohio” and thus the election because of several polls confirming the President maintains a small “lead.”
And that’s one of the biggest flaws of the reporting and armchair commentary.
When one sees reporting that says Obama ‘leads’ Romney 47%-45% is state X, that’s actually terrifying news for any incumbent. This is the case in any number of states where Obama ‘leads’ Romney but is not close to 50%.
This is what GOP pollster Whit Ayres correctly calls the incumbent’s ‘never-never land of 47%, 48% and 49%.” Hitting 50% +1 for Obama will be a continual uphill fight in a variety of battleground states like Florida and Virginia — no matter what we hear and see now — due to the economy and horrendous right track/wrong track #’s.
Granted, Romney still has quite a bit to do in terms of even getting to the point of possibly closing the deal — he’s indeed behind, still needs to package his agenda more succinctly, and the ruthlessness of the Obama campaign has kept him back on his heels.
But still, campaigns change quickly.
With debates and so many surprises left in store, anything can happen — and Romney is very much in the thick of the contest, no matter what one sees from DC talking heads, most of whom, pathetically, have never even worked on a campaign.