President Obama and Dems Need More A Popularity Bounce After the Charlotte Democratic National Convention 2012:
If Americans don’t believe President Obama can handle the economy he inherited – he could be seen as the wrong person for the job.
President Barack Obama and the Democrats need a more than a popularity spurt after the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte North Carolina in order to beat Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in November. Mitt Romney did gain a bit in the polls after the Republican National Convention and won supporters in key areas based on his character. Governor Romney already leads the incumbent president on issues related to the economy and the direction most Americans think the country is headed but wasn’t perceived as ‘in touch’ with the ordinary citizen based on effective ads from the Obama administration. Demonizing Romney may not be enough to win the election for President Obama although it’s been highly effective.
We saw an inflection point in online betting parlor predictions since March 2012 that has not retreated and although the President is exceptionally popular, if popularity regarding unemployment and the economy is a central theme- he is behind in many polls. Romney needs to seem more like a viable alternative to four years of Barack Obama and he has no popular slogans yet although his 5-point plan is resonating with some potential voters. He needs a slogan or President Obama can win on the ‘let’s not change course now vote”.
President Obama will make a compelling case for why Americans need to give him another four years and this year he will be helped by President Bill Clinton which is in some ways a sign he needs star power to help him. We predicted years ago (before the November 2010 midterm elections) that President Obama would pull out the ‘Clinton Card’ and he definitely needs it. Who doesn’t like President Clinton?
If President Obama isn’t able to get an ‘economy related’ bounce in the polls after the convention which could be overshadowed by the second to last unemployment numbers due out this Friday – it will be Romney’s last chance to sway independent voters who will be likely to choose the next president. Although President Obama inherited a poor economy, more and more people believe America’s future is less bright long term and could be swayed by Romney that the job was too big for him. After Democrats lost in a sweeping fashion in 2012 and President Obama didn’t turn the Clintonian page and move to a more centrist position, November 2012 could be more of the same. To monitor the who will win the presidency this year we are not looking at the Electoral College map alone but we are studying individual races to see if President Obama has large coattails. Right now President Obama is using the coattails of another president. Remember when President Clinton stopped by the White House and did an impromptu press conference about the Bush Tax cuts?
