RNC day two: The Mitt Romney charm offensive, handled by Ann

Mr. (Bad) Personality Day two of the Republican National Convention is going to be all about what a good guy Mitt Romney really is, about how much you'd really love to sit down with him for a frosty mug of milk. The sons are all there being smiley and schmaltzy. Ann is bribing people with homemade cookies, readying for her big "make Mitt seem nice" night tonight.

And, boy, is it needed. At least Republican strategists think so.

Romney's inability so far to counter President Barack Obama's efforts to portray him as an out-of-touch elitist who got rich through predatory business practices is perhaps his biggest general election hurdle, many top Republicans here said Monday.

Replacing this image with something more appealing'and, they say, more fairly reflective of Romney's real life and values'is by far the most urgent task this week for the GOP nominee. Again and again, top operatives referred to the convention as an opportunity for Romney to 'reintroduce' himself to the electorate.

Romney has apparently been resisting this, insisting that he is indeed popular, or at least was 40 years ago and if you don't like him that's your problem because he can buy and sell your ass so shape up. Or maybe he just realizes it's futile to make people like him.
That's from the most recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, and yes, Romney has a 34-point deficit in likability in this race. But, hey, that's four points better than back in April. By November, he might get that gap down under 30 points. Provided he stops going out in public and saying stuff out loud. Campaigning is just a recipe for disaster for him on the likability front.