Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: "Time for an intervention"

David Rothschild, writing at pollster.com David Rothschild at pollster.com:

The remaining uncertainty in my prediction is not what will happen if the election were held today, but in what will happen over the next few weeks that could impact the election. The burden is now completely on Romney and/or Ryan to move the needle in their four debates, or orchestrate some other major event. If nothing major happens, than Obama will be reelected.

Charlie Cook:

This election is still quite close and could go either way, but Romney badly needs something to happen to change the trajectory of this race. If things remain as they are today, he loses.

Hey, but don't worry Republicans. There's always Rasmussen to cheer you up.

Reuters:

Republican Mitt Romney struggled on Tuesday to stabilize his reeling presidential campaign after a secretly recorded video showed him belittling President Barack Obama's supporters as victims who are too dependent on government.

TPM:

Romney's Libya Response May Have Done Real Damage Pew Research Center via WaPo Whether this will impact Obama's overall lead in the polls is another story. But at the very least, there's clear evidence that Romney's approach to the crisis itself did not sit well with the public, a worrisome development given the campaign's high hopes last week to bring down the president's longstanding advantage on foreign policy.

Peggy Noonan:

Time for an Intervention

I think there is a broad and growing feeling now, among Republicans, that this thing is slipping out of Romney's hands. Today at a speech in New York with what seemed like many conservatives and Republicans in the audience, I said more or less the above. I wondered if anyone would say, in the Q&A, 'I think you've got it wrong, you're too pessimistic.' No one did. A woman asked me to talk about why in a year the Republicans couldn't lose, the Republican candidate seems to be losing.

Fox News Latino:

The apparent ineptitude of Republican candidate Mitt Romney in saying that he would have a better chance of winning the U.S. presidency if he were of Mexican descent might well cost him the Hispanic vote he is trying to win in November.

Linda McMahon (Republican candidate for Senate in CT):

I disagree with Governor Romney's insinuation that 47% of Americans believe they are victims who must depend on the government for their care. I know that the vast majority of those who rely on government are not in that situation because they want to be. People today are struggling because the government has failed to keep America competitive, failed to support job creators, and failed to get our economy back on track.

The Hill:

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) came out in opposition to Mitt Romney's controversial remarks on the "47 percent."

Brown, who has been distancing himself from elements of the Republican Party, joins GOP Senate candidate in Connecticut Linda McMahon in coming out against the statements.

Predictable. There'll be more rats abandoning ship as time goes on.

WaPo puts the 47% remark in context:

Voters on why blacks pick Democrats

Republicans cited the perceived dependence of black voters on government aid, while Democratic voters cited how their party addressed poverty. The most common answer, however, was 'don't know.'

The Caucus/NY Times:

It may prove a fleeting anxiety: national polls show the race remains close, even though Mr. Romney trails in some key swing states.

Still, a flustered adviser, describing the mood, said that the campaign was turning into a vulgar, unprintable phrase.

Brutal, brutal piece.

Well, don't worry. You can always count on Glenn Thrush from Politico to see it from a Republican perspective:

Mitt Romney's campaign might appear to be collapsing like a cheap card table, but one top Democrat close to President Barack Obama had a curt warning for allies who were declaring the election all but over on Tuesday.

It ain't over, he said, until Karl Rove sings.

Sure, he can come back. He won't, though, because he sucks as a candidate. Then again, Politico also says:

If political campaigns have nine lives, nervous Republicans feel Mitt Romney has used up at least eight.

While insisting the party is still short of full-fledged panic, the video of Romney disparaging Americans who don't pay income taxes and the GOP nominee's consistently unsteady explanation of what he meant has prompted a chorus of fed-up Republicans to speak out about a campaign they see as badly in need of a jolt.

Roger Simon:

The wheels are not coming off the Mitt Romney campaign. They came off some time ago. The press is just beginning to notice.

The Romney campaign is skidding along on its axles and scraping its muffler. Soon it will be down to the dog on the roof.

I hate to say I told you so. No, scratch that. I love to say I told you so. I just don't get to do it very often.

RAND American Life Panel