First Read:
*** Who won the last two weeks? The answer: Obama and the Dems: Last week, the consensus was that Mitt Romney gave a good speech for Romney... Today, some are judging Obama on not meeting the height of past speeches, as well as this week’s other addresses by Michelle Obama and Bill Clinton. But when you compare Romney’s speech with Obama’s and the GOP convention vs. the Dem convention, it’s easy to conclude that Obama and the Democrats won the past two weeks. Indeed, maybe the best way to judge the Democratic convention isn’t by Obama’s speech last night but rather by the whole three days. You saw the building up of Obama the man by Michelle; the contrast and the economic narrative from Bill Clinton; and the way forward from Obama. Another way to look at it -- Michelle put down the building blocks, Clinton put up the walls, and Obama put on the roof. Beyond a concerted effort to make Romney more likeable, you didn’t see the same thing last week in Tampa. And now we head to the post-convention polls, and perhaps the best way to look at any bounce isn’t by the head-to-head numbers, but rather by what each side set out to do. So for Romney, let’s look to see if his favorability numbers increase. And for Obama, let’s see if those enthusiasm/interest numbers go up.
*** Romney’s new ad blitz: Meanwhile, not too long after Obama finished his remarks last night, the Romney campaign unveiled 15 new TV ads in eight battleground states. Here’s a sampling of these new ads -- on the looming defense cuts, on the deficit/debt, and on standing up to China. But here’s perhaps the biggest conclusion from these new TV ads: The eight states don’t include Michigan, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin. Rather they’re the usual Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia. After all the conventions, after all the advertising, and after all the events of the past few months, the battleground hasn’t changed. If Romney concedes Wisconsin to the president, Romney would win seven of these eight battleground states and still lose the Electoral College if he loses Florida. Think about that… |
