What is the Romney campaign trying to accomplish here? Are they really still playing to their base?

[bigtree]

from Greg Sargent at WaPo's Plum Line: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/who-is-the-intended-audience-here/2012/09/12/88417aaa-fcfe-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_blog.html


I continue to wonder: Who are the voters that the Romney campaign sees as their intended audience for this stuff? A reasonably good way to measure whether people are open to the idea that Obama is secretly sympathetic with America’s enemies might be his ratings when it comes to handling terrorism.

On this front, as Post polling guru Peyton Craighill notes, the current state of play represents a dramatic shift in the political landscape from previous campaigns. Both John McCain and George W. Bush held wide advantages on terrorism in the last two presidential races. That is now reversed — in favor of a Democrat. The new Washington Post poll finds that Obama holds a wide lead among registered voters of 51-40. Independents pick Obama by 46-42. The gap is even wider among moderates, at 55-33.

The only groups that favor Romney over Obama on terrorism are Republicans (74-13) and conservatives (65-24). So it stands to reason that most of the true undecided voters who remain probably favor Obama on terrorism. What will they think when they hear Romney tell them that the Obama administration sympathized with attacks on Americans? My bet is that it doesn’t end up resonating with their perceptions at all.

What is the Romney campaign trying to accomplish here? Is this all about letting the base know that Romney isn’t afraid to “get tough” with Obama? If so, why is Romney still playing to the base? Or does the Romney camp believe there is a small segment of true undecided voters who — after living with Obama as president for four years — still are open to doubting Obama’s intentions and sympathies towards America?


read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/who-is-the-intended-audience-here/2012/09/12/88417aaa-fcfe-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_blog.html

[Arkansas Granny]

1. FWIW, the freepers are absolutely ecstatic over his statement.

That's gotta tell you something.

[Barack_America]

3. So, they're just a hootin' and hollerin' over there on the Titanic are they?

Do you think they're catch on when the water hits their ankles? Or their chests?

[Barack_America]

2. A cynical person might think the campaign might have been waiting....

...for protests to this video. And might have been waiting for anyone from the administration to be quoted "apologizing" for it. And might have had a planned response to that "apology". In other words, a cynical person might think that the protests at least were something that was expected, with a ready-made response that went horribly wrong when things became deadly.

A cynical person might think that, but the above scenario may sadly be more strategically complicated than this campaign can handle. It's equally likely that they are just really this inept and tone-deaf.

[tibbiit]

7. I agree October surprise sprung early

To counter act the Obama poll surges. Part of a plan to show how great Rmoney is at foreign policy.
Tib

[patrice]

4. How many votes do you estimate that the PNAC -ian "industrials" own or influence. +

Defense sector budget cuts coming up + Cozine$$$$$$ with U.S. Chambers of Commerce + End-timing-Prosperity-Gospel Evangelicals-and-Mormons.

People who mistakenly or otherwise think they are going to be dispossessed vote for their own jobs.

[mr_hat]

5. The Romney campaign was so desperate for a "game changer" IMO

that they sugar-rushed into the fantasy that this was the occasion.

Fools.

[randome]

9. Nothing more complicated than that.

I laugh when I hear someone refer to Romney or Rove's 'plan'. Like this:

[elleng]

6. Sounds something like 'get tough,'

with NO substance, and of course violating the principle that politics stops at the water's edge.
http://www.psaonline.org/article.php?id=31

[Bernardo de La Paz]

8. No member of Romney's family has served in the military in Five (5) Generations. nt

[smorkingapple]

10. His only chance is a riled up base

he knows this already. If they lose faith in his chances or fire in their gut to GOTV for him, he'll lose in an absolute landslide. This was his McCain being told to use the racist angle if he wanted any chance at winning moment. At least McCain had the decency to not go that route, Romney said fuck it. He'll be smashed as a result and lose with more than dishonor.