Last week, we noted that despite spending millions on television advertising, President Obama’s campaign simply was not convincing voters he deserved to be reelected. This week, Democratic pollsters James Carville and Stan Greenburg released a memo summarizing their focus group research explaining why:
…
The spots that simply talk about progress on the economy did not do well. The first offered a graphic depiction of job decline during the early months of the recession and job growth under President Obama. The second highlighted progress on jobs in the automobile industry. These ads did not win over most Obama voters.
The memo goes on to quote one Columbus, Ohio woman, “All the positives they show for him, that hasn’t happened. All the jobs returned and all, it’s not there. But they’re showing it like boy, this is happened. It was way down here and we’ve done all this. It’s all exaggerated figures.”
So if Obama can’t run on his own record, what do Carville and Greenberg suggest he run on? Here is a hint:
Demonizing Romney appears to be Obama’s only path to reelection. If he does win in November, it will be on fear, not hope.
Campaign 2012
Polls: A compilation of Gallup tracking polls shows Obama’s support among all voters is down five percent from 2008.
Obama: Obama attended six fundraisers yesterday, including one in Baltimore where he accused Republicans of ordering a steak dinner and then leaving him with the tab. He also said the Romney campaign message could fit into a single tweet.
Romney: Campaigning in Florida, Romney said he would let states deal with health care reform.
Around the Bigs
Associated Press, More than 7 in 10 US teens jobless in summer: Fewer than three in 10 American teenagers now hold jobs such as running cash registers, mowing lawns or busing restaurant tables from June to August, with employment for 16- to 19-year-olds falling to the lowest level since World War II.
Fox News, May Budget Deficit Up From Year Earlier: The U.S. government posted a budget deficit of $125 billion in May, more than twice the level registered in the same month last year. So far this fiscal year, the budget deficit stands at $844.5 billion, narrower than at the same time a year ago.
The Wall Street Journal, Steep Rise in Health Costs Projected: The annual Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services health spending forecast predicts health spending will wise sharply if Obamacare is implemented.
The Los Angeles Times, CalPERS health premiums expected to jump average of 9.6% in 2013: California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the third-largest purchaser of health benefits in the country, said its health premiums next year are expected to increase 9.6% on average for nearly 1.3 million members.
The Wall Street Journal, Threat Spreads Across Europe: Borrowing costs for Italy and Spain continued to surge on Tuesday, escalating calls for bigger steps from euro-zone leaders amid a new warning that the crisis is dragging down even the world’s resilient emerging economies.
The Wall Street Journal, Immigrant Children Lag Behind, Posing Risk: The education, health and socioeconomic lot of the children of immigrants, the fastest-growing population group in the U.S., has raised concerns about how those children will perform when they enter the workforce.
The Washington Post, Clinton accuses Russia of selling attack helicopters to Syria: The Obama administration on Tuesday accused Russia of planning to supply new attack helicopters to Syria, a move that U.S. officials warned would dramatically escalate the crisis and belie Moscow’s claim that it is not supporting President Bashar al-Assad’s violent crackdown on dissent.
The New York Times, Method to Track Firearm Use Is Stalled by Foes: Identifying the firearm used in a crime is one of the biggest challenges for criminal investigators. But what if a shell casing picked up at a murder scene could immediately be tracked to the gun that fired it?
The Hill, Cornyn calls on Holder to resign: Sen. John Cornyn called on Attorney General Eric Holder to resign Tuesday as Republicans raised the pressure on the attorney general to avoid a contempt vote by providing documents about the Fast and Furious gun-tracking operation.
Righty Playbook
The Washington Examiner‘s Tim Carney notes that under the Obama economy, corporate profits up, corporate cash holdings up, but new businesses starts are down.
Josh Barro explains that unsustainable compensation structures are the reason the public sector is not doing fine.
Hit and Run‘s Mike Riggs notes that half of Obama’s “accomplishments” listed on Democratic Hub are assassinations.
Lefty Playbook
Talking Points Memo‘s Benjy Sarlin reports that activists are organizing to demand that corporations adopt resolutions to renounce any spending on campaigns ads.
At The Huffington Post, Michel McAuliff lists many of the ways that states have become dependent on the federal government for spending on teachers, firefighters, and cops.
Slate‘s Matt Yglesias urges liberals to hassle Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke until he agrees to more quantitative easing.
