Republicans are buzzing about a new Gallup poll showing public approval of President Obama’s handling of the economy has fallen to 35 percent, while disapproval has risen to an astonishing 62 percent. With showdowns coming over Obamacare, spending, and debt, the president’s weakness could create a huge opportunity for the GOP. But the fact is, Republicans are too disorganized, splintered, and unfocused to take advantage of it.

For the moment at least, the party’s situation is little changed from November 2012, when it could not beat a president with an unemployment rate of 7.8 percent. Today, it’s common for Republicans to blame Mitt Romney for that loss. Of course it’s true that Romney bears a good deal of responsibility; he was (as some of his rivals argued) uniquely unqualified to attack Obama over Obamacare, and his entrepreneur-based economic appeal frequently seemed to hit the wrong note.