I should be in bed, but the Yankees/Orioles game is still going on so here I am watching the game with one eye and on the web with the other. I just read the TPM article about the Pew Poll and one statistic jumped out at me as critical to Obama's hope for turning this election back around. More after the squiggly.
While I was surprised to see that Romney is now tied with Obama among women, I'm not concerned about that, I'm sure that will turn back to Obama's favor. But this statistic really struck me:
voters identify Romney as the candidate with new ideas, 47 percent to 40 percent.
Although Romney has always had a proposal - reduce all tax rates by 20% - most Americans viewed that as just nuts. It would either explode the deficit or would require drastic cuts to middle class programs or tax deductions/credits. Team Obama had been very effective in attacking that plan. But Romney now claims that by capping deductions, the wealthy will pay the same as they are now. That's total baloney, but convincing voters of that will require a lot of work. So, on the Romney side, the public is convinced that at least he has a plan which won't hurt them and which might improve the economy. In the view of voters, Romney has stated a case for why he should be elected.
So the question is, what is Obama's plan? Do you know? I haven't heard one, have you? And this is the big omission from the Obama campaign. It isn't enough to tell voters that the other guy's plan won't work, Obama has to tell voters what his plan is and why his plan will work. This is what is missing and I believe this is why the debate has had such a dramatic effect on the polls. I was certain that Obama had lost the debate and had hurt himself, but I did not expect the numbers we're seeing today. I take the Pew poll at face value, although I'm sure things will settle down closer to 50/50. But for Obama to move back above 50%, he has to describe what he will do these next four years, especially with regard to the economy and the budget. Those are the two things most prominent on voters' minds.
President Obama has to state his case for why he should be re-elected, and a major component of that case will be announcing and promoting his plan for the next four years.
PS. The Yankees lost so I'm going to bed late, tired, and unhappy.