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While it seems the presidential race has already been fully underway for an eternity, the holding of the respective conventions has traditionally been considered the point when the race begins in earnest. That is when Mitt Romney makes the transition from presumptive nominee to the official candidate of the Republican party.
Going into the “start” of the Presidential contest the race is currently tied. According to a new Washington Post /ABC news poll Romney technically has a one point lead among registered voters. It is Romney 47 percent to Obama 46 percent. This is effectively unchanged since last month.
The basic dynamic of the race remains unchanged. Obama is seen as significantly more likable than Romney. An incredible 61 percent think he is the more likeable and friendly person compared to just 27 percent who say that about Romney. Obama also has a real edge on who is best able to handle social issues and women’s issues. But what apparently keeps Romney is the race is that he has the edge on the economy, 50 percent think Romney would be better at handling the economy compared to 43 percent for Obama.
The one really interesting part of the poll is that it found Romney has a tiny lead on the issue of handling Medicare: 45 percent think he would do a better job and 42 percent think Obama would. This is similar to the result of a CNN/ORC poll this weekend which found Obama and Romney tied on who would be best at Medicare.
Despite the fact that Romney has endorsed the extremely unpopular idea of turning Medicare into a voucher program, the Republican party has effectively muddied the water on the issue by talking about how Obama “stole” $700 billion from Medicare for his health care program. Medicare should be a real vulnerability for the Romney/Ryan ticket, but they have managed to fight the issue to a draw for now. There is a real potential, though, for Democrats to try to move these numbers.
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That 716 billion could be a real liability for Obama. He should really try to explain that one and soon.
It all boils down to the fact the U.S. electorate is unarguably the most ill-informed, misinformed, class ignorant, and xenophobic of any electorate in the Western World. Superstition, willful ignorance, fear and gullibility are all part of today’s zeitgeist in the U.S.. Anyone that has the means and the will should begin planning an escape route because things are going to become very ugly for the poor, working and middle class Americans.
That Romney has a lead in the “minds” of the electorate that he is best suited to deal with Medicare merely proves the point in 2.
I think you nailed that one. And bc they are misinformed about everything, most will sleep through the changes required to vote. What a fucking mess.
To use a sports analogy, Romney has turned the ball over six times in the first half, but is tied going into the locker room at halftime. He’s probably not going to commit six more turnovers in the second half.
I don’t think Obama has figured out what to say about the Rube Goldberg health care bill. And when a president doesn’t know what to say about the signature achievement of his first term, he’s got a big problem.
How’s that Bank protection racket working for you, Mr. Obama? I’m sure he gamed the whole economy thing through when he let the Bankster’s get away with murder.
It’s hard to imagine Romney doing any worse than Obama on the unemployment front, and he might just improve it by declaring war on the whole rest of the world.
I’ve been quietly setting up havens for my nieces and nephews. At some point the US is going to start demanding exit visas, just like certain other countries who will not be named but with whom we always compared ourselves favorably.
Obamacare – the gift that keeps on giving. Hooray for secret backroom corporate deals!
Won’t that be ironic when U.S. citizens begin crossing borders illegally to get out of the hell hole the U.S. is bound to become?
This is a cluster f… of Obama’s own making but then does he really care what happens to the working, the poor and middle class Americans? If he did he would have been more interested in defending and expanding the interests of these groups rather than his back room deals and his faux bipartisanship bs.
You assume the rest of the countries aren’t changing too. The US through it’s leadership (HaHa) is leading the rest of the world down the same rathole.
True enough, and it could be that the No Minds among us drag us all down, until the point comes where Canada will need armed border guards and erection of a fence to keep us from coming in. All you have to see is how the GOP Texas Party platform calls for the elimination of school courses that teach critical thinking skills, because it “usurps” parental authority. Maybe I can seek asylum and get Mike Holmes to sponsor me as a political refugee.
Iran required exit visas last time I was there. Just my luck, I only have citizenship in a third world country, and an industrialized country that is rapidly on track to becoming a third world country in every respect.
I would expect 2 Republicans to be tied.
That the two men are tied is extremely unsurprising considering the largest difference between the two of them is their respective demeanors. That they are tied at a little over 45% each, though, is a true testament to both the lack of intellectual curiosity and engagement found in most members of the American public and the power of ~40 years of incessant pro laissez-faire propaganda. Shameful that either of them should crack 30% support, really.
Would living in Canada be any better? Do they want Americans to cross over?
Why yes, yes it will.
“Canadian border guard spots 314 Million Americans sneaking across the border” would make for a good onion headline. But obviously, as solutions go, that one doesn’t scale to the size of the problem.
TBH, I don’t think they care 1 iota what we do so long as it doesn’t challenge their rule.
Canada will gladly bring in the best educated younger citizens, in most areas of hard science/medicine. their requirements are actually very stringent. You either have to bring in a boatload of wealth or brains, no fence for those people.
Of course, if they take in too many Americans, they do face the wrath of their police state neighbor to the south.