Bain taking a bite out of Romney's numbers

Being a dick at Bain Capital isn't such a positive after all, is it? (Reuters) Every single ad--100%--by Obama-allied Priorities USA Action Super pac has mentioned Bain by name. via CMAG
' @JoshuaGreen via web

For the first time this cycle, the national media seems to have realized that national polls don't paint an accurage picture of where the election stands today, and that yes, indeed, President Barack Obama maintains an advantage in the battleground states. It's certainly a point I've been flogging with regularity.

NBC's recent numbers helped set the narrative:

In the poll, the president leads his presumptive challenger by three points among registered voters, 47 to 44 percent, which is within the survey's margin of error [...]

Among swing-state respondents in the poll ' those living in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin ' Obama leads Romney, 50 to 42 percent.

No matter what Gallup's daily tracker may say (and they have Obama +5 today, for the little it's worth), we don't elect a president with the popular vote. It's those state numbers that matter, and thus far, they're looking pretty decent for Obama.

So the question everyone is asking is, why are Obama's national numbers so bleh, yet so much better at the state level? Quite simply, because the Obama campaign and its allies have been educating battleground state voters about Mitt Romney's business record. And yes, those attacks on Bain Capital are working.

NY Times:

Propelled by a torrent of blistering television advertisements, President Obama is successfully invoking Mitt Romney's career at Bain Capital to raise questions about his commitment to the middle class, strategists in both parties say, as the candidates engage in a critical summer duel to set the terms for this fall.

Despite doubts among some Democrats about the wisdom of attacking Mr. Romney's business career, Obama commercials painting him as a ruthless executive who pursued profits at the expense of jobs are starting to make an impact on some undecided voters, according to strategists from both sides, who differ on whether they are causing any substantial damage.

"Some Democrats"? Oh, the reporter means the Harold Fords of the party. Fuck them. They're worthless.

And strategists with both parties said independent voters speaking in focus groups had indicated that they had seen the ads or heard their charges and that they had raised questions in their minds about Mr. Romney's experience.

ABC News:

But over the last two months, even as national polls have shown little movement in the race, something different has been happening in the battleground states. It's as if there's a parallel campaign in the states that are likely to determine the presidency, one with its own rhythms and realities.

In those states, President Obama has been pulling ahead. The gaps aren't huge, but taken together, the numbers strongly suggest that Democrats' relentless attacks on Mitt Romney's business record at Bain Capital have been taking a toll.

Wall Street Journal:

There are two campaigns'the one being fought out in the press, and one in swing states [...] We're seeing some indications that the advertising could be having an impact," the survey's Republican pollster Bill. McInturff said. You can make the case for that by looking at how Romney's career at Bain Capital -- the subject of many Obama and Obama-backing Super PAC ads (a still shown at left)-- is seen nationally versus in swing states. Nationwide, 23 percent see Romney more positively because of his business career, 28 percent see him more negatively. But in swing states, 18 percent see his business experience positively, while 33 percent see it negatively.

Obviously, wealthy Democrats in New York and D.C. may not like seeing their Wall Street hedge fund buddies pilloried in the media, but those fuckers destroyed the world economy. They can seriously shut the hell up because their fragile egos and tender sensibilities are none of our concern. Fact is, those attacks work. Take it away, Sherrod!

'It's a loss in the Upper East Side of Manhattan,' [Ohio Sen. Sherrod] Brown joked in a wide-ranging interview with TPM Tuesday [...]

'People understand that this government and many of our major corporate leaders have had a bias toward financial services at the expense of manufacturing and that's cost lots of people a chance to be in the middle class,' Brown said. 'I think Bain Capital sort of sits at the pinnacle of that.'