Americans are hitting the brakes. Americans do not like Mitt Romney. And his 'trust me' campaign does not seem to be resonating with voters. Just one in six voters - 15% - want him to be President. Now Mitt Romney's unfavorability ratings have returned to their previous highs formerly achieved in March 2012. Nationally his favorability has dropped to 33 and has dropped even lower in the swing states, to 30.
A month ago, Romney’s favorable/unfavorable score stood at 34-38 percent nationally and 36-36 percent in the 12 swing states.
But in this latest survey, his national fav/unfav score is 33-39 percent and 30-41 percent in the swing states.
What accounts for this drop in Romney's favorabiity?
Also in these swing states, Romney’s favorability numbers have dropped, possibly reflecting the toll the negative Obama TV advertisements are having on the former Massachusetts governor in these battlegrounds.
In addition, the poll shows that attitudes about Romney’s business background – a frequent target in Obama ads – also are more unfavorable in these battlegrounds.
Romney's main selling point on himself, a businessman who has 'lived the real economy' doesn't seem to be 'paying dividends' for him.
Among swing-state respondents, 18 percent say what they’ve seen and heard about Romney’s business record gives them a more positive opinion about the Republican candidate, versus 33 percent who say it’s more negative.
That’s compared to the national 23-to-28 percent margin on this question.
“It’s been more of a problematic month from May to June for Romney,” says McInturff, the GOP pollster.
Or could it be his
muddled (non) message on immigration? The media reported this muddled
statement as Romney 'issu[ing] his stance' on the SCOTUS immigration ruling:
You see when [Obama] was running for office, he said he would make it his first priority, his first-year agenda, to reform our immigration system, and make it work for the American people, and for those who want to come here legally. He did not do that…And so the Supreme Court had to step in because states had to step in—states looking for a way to solve the problems that he didn't address—[they] tried to address it in their own ways and now the Supreme Court's looked at it and what we're left with is a bit of a muddle."
There you have it, what Romney would do about the immigration problem. "Obama did 'nothing' ".
As NBC said:
Even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Arizona’s immigration law shouldn’t have been a surprise and even though Romney was holding a fundraiser in Arizona (of all places!!!), it took the candidate and campaign hours to finally tell the public what they thought of the decision. First came a press release that didn’t signal if Romney agreed with the decision (and which parts). Then came a seven-minute press scrum in which a Romney press secretary refused to comment on the merits of the SCOTUS decision. And finally came Romney’s remarks at the Arizona fundraiser in which he appeared to disagree with the thrust of the ruling. “I would have preferred to see the Supreme Court give more latitude to the states not less,” he said, per NBC’s Garrett Haake.
Or could it be the fact that Romney thinks extending health insurance coverage to 30 million Americans was a
waste of time? in trying not be caught flat-footed again on a response to a SCOTUS ruling, Romney has preemptively issued his response to either possible ruling on tomorrow's decision on the ACA:
If Obamacare is not deemed constitutional, then the first three and a half years of this president's term will have been wasted on something that has not helped the American people," Romney told a crowd of some 1,500 supporters here today. "If it is deemed to stand, then I'll tell you one thing. Then we'll have to have a president, and I'm that one, that's gonna get rid of Obamacare. We're gonna stop it on day one."
Yep. Extending health insurance to 30 million previously uninsured Americans - waste of time. Insurance for young adults to the age of 26? Waste of time. Insurance for those with pre-existing conditions (i.e. those who actually need it)? Waste of time. Let's put a stop to that! On day one!
Garante Franke-Ruta at The Atlantic nails the heart of Romney's problem in what he calls an unsustainable candidacy - he comes across as a lawyer trying feverishly to close a deal:
Romney's issue positions look increasingly like the negotiations of an attorney trying to close a deal -- he'll say what he needs to say, he'll tack and trim, and he'll change course if need be in order to get the result he wants at the great public bargaining table. But once in office, how will such a man govern? Romney's campaign is trying to play it safe by not revealing too much. But there's a real risk people also will look at that caution and develop some hesitations of their own.
Sounds like America is starting to pay attention and getting a bead on the Republican presidential candidate.