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Subscribe to RSSWASHINGTON-- Focusing tightly on their campaign's economy-first message, a pair of Mitt Romney's top advisers on Saturday dismissed recent efforts by the president to reach out to younger voters and the so-called "likability gap" between President Barack Obama and the presumptive GOP nominee with a simple argument: The 2012 election is not a popularity contest.
"This election is not going to be about who's cooler," Romney senior adviser Peter Flaherty said at a Washington Post Live Newsmaker Forum. "The question is going to be, who do you trust to run the economy?"
Eric Fehrnstrom, another top Romney adviser, also criticized Obama for his appearance earlier this week on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," on the University of North Carolina campus, where the president "Slow Jammed the News." Fehrnstrom said the president's performace was "off key," and showed inappropriate levity about an issue - the possible doubling of student loan interest rates - that deserved to be taken more seriously.
"You won't see the governor slow jam the news," Fehrnstrom said, not discounting the possibility Romney could appear on more late-night talk shows or even "Saturday Night Live," thanks to the ability of those shows to reach voters who normally don't follow politics as closely.
And while Fehrnstrom predicted Americans would "fall in love with" Ann and Mitt Romney as the election progressed, the advisers' downplaying of personal popularity in favor of an economic-competency argument is consistent with Romney's own recent comments on the stump.
"Even if you like Barack Obama, we can't afford Barack Obama," Romney said at a campaign event in North Carolina on Wednesday.
Romney's advisers also alluded to that trip to North Carolina - and other recent campaign events in swing states - as illustrative of how they see the electoral map playing out in November.
"There are a handful of states that we view as key to the outcome," Fehnrstrom said, in response to a question from the forum's moderator, The Washington Post's Dan Balz. While declining to lay out a specific "path to victory," as the Obama campaign has done, Fehrnstrom said the campaign's geographical focuses would not be a surprise to anyone who has followed their recent movements, and that New Hampshire, Ohio, Florida, Nevada, Virginia and North Carolina were all places where "the campaign will be waged."
Asked if there was any one reliably Democratic state that could be moved into the Romney column this fall, Fehrnstrom predicted that Michigan, where the former Massachusetts governor was born and raised, could flip from blue to red. They're familiar with the Romney "brand" there, Fehrnstrom said.
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I need to go to bed have to go to work tomorrow..oops forgot the tea party say we don't work good night everyone
Amazing how much damage the Bush family has caused to the Republican Party. They must have push back the Party at least 20 years, maybe more.
The subpar performance of this group of Republican candidates in this presidential cycle clearly shows how disappointed even then Republican voters are in their Party. Low turnout, split vote, candidates dropping off because a show of incompetence, candidates dropping off because they mistaken this process to a beauty contest and fielding the "office fool" as a candidate.
Not only have this bunch of clowns shown that they are not qualified to be President of the United States, they clearly demonstrated they are not even in the same class as President Obama.
It is clear by now to all Americans that President Obama will get his second term and hopefully his second chance to get is agenda through. As it should be the responsibility falls squarely on the citizens of this great country to give President Obama a responsible Congress to help him govern instead of impeding him to give Americans what they mandated him back in 2008. My follow Americans, please do not vote for your Party, vote for the best candidate in your district.
We don't need another war, another economic collapse and more begging for Arab oil. We need a clean economy, affordable healthcare for all, a strong coalition to the take care of our global military responsibilities and we a decent leader of sound mind and moral values in the White House.
Give President Obama his destined legacy.
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And yes, it is still very much about the Bush's and Republican Party record. How they literately self destructed and took a lot of American casualties with them.
Two unpaid wars, including one war of convenience to comply with the Saudi King's request to take out Saddam.
Deregulated the banking system to collapse.
Gave billions of dollars back to their handlers, the corporate executives, on the backs of the middle class.
Turning their back on the poor and people who do not look like them with no healthcare and future.
Make a good hard read on the Republican platform and translate that to real deeds and priorities that are not included.
Yes, it is still an accounting on the Bush's failed presidency, which we will be paying for a long, long time.
It is time to change direction back into the real world and President Obama is the only one on the ballot with a sound mind that gets it.
ad,M
Yes, and much more!
Wow, I can see the liberals are out in full force on this blog. I find it quite entertaining what is coming from these posts. I will continue to be entertained by all your delusions on the state of the economy and Obama's role in it (or I should say lack of role in it) and your trashing on Mitt Romney who has had more success in his role as Governor (I won't even include the Private Sector) than Obama has ever had in his lifetime. You guys say what you want against Romney, you all will be getting the last laugh when he will be nominated President this coming November. His lead is growing every day among Independents (the group that will decide the election, he is currently leading with this group by 13% according to the latest polls) who are fed up with Obama's rock star status and his inability to seriously address any of the problems we are facing now. As I said before, during the debates, Obama will have to answer to Romney for his pathetic record. This election will be a landlside victory for Romney, sorry if this is something that will be hard to accept for you liberals.
Oh Cluleless, factless, linkless Dee... How wrong you will be!
If only you had Reality!
With your spew, you might want to post some links to FACTS???
Oh, the Damned FACTS?
These escape you...
Yep, just as I predicted, saw that coming, the name calling. Sorry to strike a nerve but I will continue to believe what I believe. What facts do you want? You watch the news and read the paper don't you? If you do, you have to hear about the current jobless claims coming in, the 1.2 trilllion dollars per year debt averaging with this President and his inablility to addresss these issues. What about the poll numbers on Obama's handling of the economy (let's not even go there)? What facts do you want? These facts are out there every day on the news for you to listen to. Are you that clueless that you don't know what is going on every day in the economy or are you just in denial of these facts? Yup, you are in denial, probably frustrated deep inside at how Obama is handling the economy and you react by calling me clueless and whatever else. Good luck with that!
The Obama experience has been eye opening for many naive Americans, most Liberals and most Black Americans would vote Obama in as a dictator, long as the Entitlement checks keep coming, White America is now awake, there will never be another Black President in America again...
They simply cannot be trusted with our Freedom
Thom,
Looks like your KKK hood is now in full view...at least you're more honest than most racist Rebublicans....
Why would I support a President that doesn't care about White People? And make no mistake, Obama doesn't...
Is it racist of me to look out for my own well being?
Thomas, everyone here already knows you're a cracker; no need to be shy.
Which means, everyone here also already knows how much your thoughts are worth, cracker.
Romney couldn't be cool if you put him on the North Pole naked, so I fully understand why he's looking at the economy--but that's going to work either. His trickle down economics has been tried before and the American middle class knows what if feels like to get pissed on.
Norm, so how is the middle class doing under Barack Obama? What exactly has he done for them??
Dee, so far he has kept the middle class from disappearing entirely, and if he got anything other than obstructionism out of the Republicans in Congress, he could do a lot more.
But, the Republicans don't want to see the middle class survive, clearly, if it in any way interferes with their goals. Or, Grover Norquist's goals. Or, the Koch brothers' goals. Etc.
JC, You conveniently forget that Obama had control of both the House and Senate for the first 2 years of his presidency! What has he done for the middle class then when he could have done anything that he wanted?? Now that we finally have a Republican House, you call it obstrutionism that nothing is getting passed. How convenient! Give me a break!
OMG, this tired BULL@!$%# again, Dee? Get this through your dense Elephant skull, because I'm not going to keep reminding you: THERE WAS NEVER A FILIBUSTER-PROOF DEMOCRAT MAJORITY IN THE SENATE. NOT FOR A VERY LONG TIME, AND CERTAINLY NOT SINCE PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS BEEN IN OFFICE. AT BEST, THERE WERE 58 DEMS, TWO OF WHOM WERE TERMINALLY ILL, A SOCIALIST, AND ONE INDEPENDENT IN THE CAUCUS. TOSS IN A COUPLE OF BLUE DOGS, AND IT WAS A RARE DAY WHEN THERE WERE 60 VOTES FOR ANYTHING.
SO, THE REPUBLICANS FILIBUSTERED EVERYTHING INCLUDING THE LUNCH MENU IN THE SENATE DINING ROOM, ON THE BETTER-THAN-EVEN CHANCE THAT THEY COULD ALWAYS SUSTAIN IT BY A VOTE OR TWO.
Tell me Dee, does this constant revision of history play havoc with the cognitive dissonance of the rightwingnut@!$%#tards? Don't you at least expect others to be able to remember back less than four years?
JC, Dee is right. You're the idiot. If what u said was right , then Obamacare never would have been passed.
Thomas, This post is very racist! Many of us including myself don't believe Obama is a bad President because he is black, I will welcome a black president any time so long as they have the right policies. This one for sure does not!
Dee still just spews and doesn't back up any of her factless claims, just like most of the GOP Posters on this vine.
See a pattern?
Most rational voters do...
Dee,
Sorry
The Racist, non-inclusive faction of your party will lead to its ruination. TeaNuts Degeneration Disease (TNDD), if you will. Your cause is LOST.
I never said ALL Blacks, I said MOST...
I was born and raised in New Orleans, I have plenty of experience of a majority Black population and all Black leadership...
Most Blacks are simply looking for a handout
White Liberals can cry racism all they want, while they live in Oregon or Vermont and have very little firsthand experience.
As the Zimmerman trial drags on, it will only hurt Obama in the eyes of White America...
Us White folks in the South know the true violent nature of the Black Man.
What I would like to know is why First Read apparently considers your racist speech to be protected speech.
Must be a fair number of your fellow sheet-wearers in the cadre of "moderators" here, I guess.
No President has ever damaged our nation, nor divided it as badly as Obama. Massive wasted corrupt spending, Solyndra, nation destroying debt, scandals at the GSA, secret service, and fast and furious. And the arrogance and total contempt he has for average working Americans is beyond belief. Obama has given us the most failed Presidency in our history. So he will run the nasty ugliest most divisive campaign in our nation's history. That's all he can do to cover up his failure!
Yes, obviously Obama has nothing else to run on except for class warfare and so it will be the nastiest divisive campaign in our history that wont tell us what his intentions are for his second term but how bad Romney will be because he is a 1%er and therefore does not look out for the middle class. This is all we will be hearing about up until the election, it will be one big diversion to hide his record. No substance at all from Obama. No surprise there!
Oh, look! It's a little circle-jerk! Who's on pivot, tonight?
No matter, just make sure you clean up.
LOL....People don't want cool..they want jobs
LOL, at bigpapa Johns, according to Mittens.
I'd like to see an honest debate about POLICY CHOICES. The personalities are secondary.
Getting our job economy to work like people want it to work is possible, but it's going to take brutal honesty and a willingness to try new policies. I don't see either party willing to ask the tough, constructive questions (e.g., how do we get the rate of new job creation up much higher than the rate of job destruction???, What are millions of people going to do for a living when the robotics revolution comes on in the next 5-10 years?)
Both Romney and Obama are too conventional as leaders to chart the country through the uncharted waters I've mentioned. They are not leading by asking difficult questions. They both offer pat answers. I have slightly more confidence in Obama and the people the breadth of voices he listens to. Mitt seems like he lives in a bubble. Neither are experimenters, which is what we need in leaders to help figure out the economics of the 21st century.
But we can focus on the economy now because obama has pulled us out of iraq, getting us out of afghanistan, & killed bin laden & ghaddafi & nearly destroyed al qaeda. I tell you the bushman not only cut taxes in half, he raised defense spending to the point that it equaled all the rest of the world combined. And like romney, the bushman swore never to kill bin laden who was too much of an asset to the gop, mr grover & the rushbo. Obama did the right thing. Just like clinton said. It wasn't easy. But killing bin laden & destroying al qaeda was the right thing. It's why we can focus on the economy which mr grover, the gop, the rushbo, & the bushman destroyed too.
But somehow, just somehow, the Republican's get the notoriaty as being the "fiscally" responsible party, how is that??
TEApublicans are running scared, can you feel it? Their nominee is a slave to the Koch brothers and the rest of the top one percent. All they have are insults and lies.
Mitt (dog-on-the-car-roof) Romney is a serial flip-flopper. He could do more damage to this country than DUBYA did in his WASTED eight years.
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012 and ANY non-GOP candidates down the ballot.
My Dear Mitt & Advisers, it certainly is refreshing to have a copetent President Obama, who is also a normal human being, he even represents 100% of the people.
Mitt contrast that with a stick of wood, a starched stuffed shirt, who is vying to represent the PARTY of NO in the coming election, who promises he will back us over the cliff for the benefit of the 3.5%.
For some strange reason I will stick with the President who pulled us out of the chasm, up over the edge of the cliff and a ways beyond, a Democratic sweep of ALL public offices is in order for the sake of preserving our Democracy!
You can also believe that pigs fly if you prefer, but it does not make it reality.
Try getting an education before you post such garbage!
You Obama supporters are such idiots for saying things like "He relates to people better".
Do you remember when he said that the Cambridge Police Department acted "stupidly" after he just admitted that he did not know the full story surrounding the incident? The guy is complete idiot and typical of leftist fools!
It's too bad Obama didn't pay more attention in his college economics courses and spend less time trying to learn cool. You would have thought he would have at least learned in his jobs prior to the presidency about supply and demand and the negative affects of over spending.....oh wait, I forgot, he never had a job prior to the WH.
The previous administration who got us into 2 wars over 10 years all the while having tax cuts should have taken the same college campus economics classes and figured to fight wars you have to fund them, so the next administration doesn't have to spend their time crawling out of The Great Bush Depression.
Correction: Wars that Islamic terrorists "got us into to" which, by the way, were approved by Congress. The costs should have been mananged better, no question. A combination of delaying tax cuts and immediate spending cuts, like gutting the GSA and Dept. of Energy.
Poncere, islamic terroriests did not get us into 2 wars. Iraq had nothing to do with terrorists only the Bush administration lies. Yes, approved due to lies. The Iraq distraction caused us to lose site of why we went to Afghanistan and prolonged the war. Don't forget, we also sent our soldiers into wars ill-equipped while paying billions to private contractors. The Bush/cheney administration really thought a lot of our soldiers.
By the way since the last 3 months were spent ripping into Obama's energy policies as gas prices were going UP, I guess we are obligated to give him credit as prices are going down, right? Or now to you want to rip into which college campuses he visits? The GOP criticized that too.
Fuel prices are going down.....really? Down a nickel after going up on Obama's watch by 120%. You want to give credit to Obama for that? O.K. I'll give him that great accomplishment. Run with it.
Romney talks a good game when it comes to the economy, but what exactly does his time as Governor show us. I believe they were 47th in job creation. If Bain is any indication how many Americans will lose jobs when he ships them overseas. For his camp to say Michigan is in play after his comments and how the Rep. Governor is turning many areas into the Soviet Union with this emergency manager. I don't see how he can win that state unless people just don't vote.
while i do think the economy(which like it or not repubs is way better than when obama took office) will be the main campaign issue, likeability is part of politics period. if romney's favorable/unfavorable continues to be as bad as it is now then no way will he get enough people to the polls to beat barack.
Of course it is about the economy. Why would we want to go back to the Bush policies? That is exactly what Romney wants.
It is about the economy and the Country.
Vote Romney because he is the only choice you have to make the Country a better place.
A corporate raider who made his fortune destroying American Companies and the families and communities of American workers. KingofBain.com
Sorry pitts but unemployment when Bush left office was around 7%. And more bad news, latest unemployment numbers unchanged at 8.2%. And those in the know predict that given the economy has stalled, and how many months that are left until the election, economists predict unemployment will not go below 8% in 2012. Obama is now Howard Dean, and is in meltdown mode. I sat in utter amazement as Obama stood before the world, and said the words that will become the same fodder as "Deans scream", "somebody give me an AMEN".
Mr, unemployment was higher than 8% when Bush left office and on a steep trend incline as well.
It's hard to understand how things would have been better had we not bailed out the commerical credit industry, had we not created 2m jobs with the stimulus (costly as it was), had we not saved 500k jobs with the auto manufactuers and had we not reduced payroll taxes on middle America employees.
Romney-job destroyer, American family and community devastator-KingofBain.com
OBAMA'S WAR ON WOMEN
http://www.ktrh.com/pages/michaelberry.html?article=10016656
Women's Unemployment Statistics Under Obama
Unemployment Increases in Young
People Under Obama: A New Lost Generation of Youth?
http://aconservativeteacher.blogspot.com/2011/12/unemployment-increases-in-young-people.html
OBAMA'S
WAR ON BLACKS
Obama Ignores
Black Unemployment
http://thepinehillsnews.com/wp/2009/07/30/obama-ignores-black-unemployment/
THE REAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 36%
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-764592
Honest, can you point to any of Obama's policies that resulted in higher unemployment for women?
No? Didn't think so.
i can point out that unemployment for women is down under his administration. th reason is probably a cumulative affect of all of obama's policies.
also the number of women employed by the whitehouse staff and this administration is down.
So your answer is no, you can't point to even one Obama policy whose results was higher unemployment for women.
Thank you.
In the month before President Bush got on his horse and rode out of town, 700,000 Americans lost their jobs and it only got worse from there on. Bush may just be the luckiest President in history because his house of cards fell in the Summer of 2008, just as he was packing his bags.
i really hope that all of those white people who voted for obama in 2008 now understand just how racist obama and his supporters are.
remember it was white people who got obama elected.
blacks are only 12% of the population.
It was more than just white people that helped get Obama elected. You should educate yourself before posting nonsense.
my point is without the white vote obama could not get elected. so some should quit acting like all white people hate blacks.
I am a white person, voted for President Obama, and can't wait to do it again!!!
Did u forget that Obama is also half white and raised by whites
Who gives a crap if he is purple? He is an awesome president! He is intelligent, compassionate, strong family values, decisive in foreign decisions, and on and on.
Laura, "awesome"? really, must not take very much to impress you. Name some more of the"on and on" things that makes him so great. I will admit that he has been a Great Divider
Since 2009, my salary is down, my expenses are up, and my effective tax rate doubled. If this is a great economy, take me back to the good old days when I made more, paid less, and was able to enjoy life.
Randy, while you were making more and paying less, as you say, our economy was crumbling. In 2008, it hit its limit and could no longer sustain itself. It will take decades to undo the horrific affect of the policies of past administrations. Take a moment to think.
The only way it will take Decades is if Obama is reelected and his spending habits continue. This can be fixed if the correct people are elected if we go the way we are now it will never be fixed.
Headline!! Presidents don't spend money; Congress does. Presidents don't have control of tax policies; Congress does. Some Presidents, however, do go to war needlessly and keep the expense of those wars 'off budget' creating huge deficits with borrowed money.