The Republican National Committee is throwing their official support and all of its weight behind Governor Romney.

WaPo:

Less than 24 hours after sweeping five primaries and declaring the Republican presidential nomination fight officially over, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee are moving quickly to coordinate their efforts.

“Governor Romney’s strong performance and delegate count at this stage of the primary process has made him our party’s presumptive nominee,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “In order to maximize our efforts I have directed my staff at the RNC to open lines of communication with the Romney campaign.”

The leading edge of the synchronization will be four liaisons between the two organizations. Brian Jones, who has been serving as an adviser to Romney since late last year, will lead that effort. Kevin Madden, who served as the press secretary for Romney’s 2008 presidential bid, will advise the communications operation and serve as a DC-based television surrogate for the Romney/RNC effort. Ward Baker, a veteran Tennessee-based GOP strategist, will help coordinate the political and field teams. Ron Kaufman, a veteran RNC member, and Ben Ginsberg, who served as national counsel to Romney’s 2008 race, will also facilitate interaction between the two groups.

From the beginning of the Romney’s primary campaign they stated that his planning and fundraising would be designed to perform a long slog through the primary season in order to win the nomination. They have done just that and a new election season begins. For many Romney diehards this moment has been six years in the making. For myself it almost seems surreal that it is finally happening.

The time has come to rally around the nominee. Please consider donating to Romney’s campaign what you can. Maybe pick up some promotional t-shirts and bumpers stickers too. Learn where and how you can volunteer to help the campaign. It’s only six and a half months until election day – let’s gear up for a tough fight now. You can start by watching Mitt’s speech from last night’s victories.

MRC Announcement: I’m pleased to inform you that my brother Luke Gunderson and I, along with staff writer David Parker, were elected as alternate national delegates for the RNC convention in Tampa and will be attending it in August. We look forward to doing some live blogging and tweeting directly from the big event.

~Nate Gunderson

UPDATE: The RNC has made good on their word to help Romney and have done so extremely quickly. Check out the new video they made entitled A Tale of Two Leaders

It’s Primary Election Day!

Voters are going to the polls today in Connecticut (28 delegates), Delaware (17 delegates), New York (95 delegates), Pennsylvania (72 delegates), and Rhode Island (19 delegates).

Hoping to further finalize the primary process, Romney supporters are hoping for victories in all five states.

UPDATE:

IT’S A CLEAN SWEEP FOR ROMNEY!

Congrats!

A better America began tonight!

“After 43 primaries and caucuses, many long days and not a few long nights, I can say with confidence – and gratitude – that you have given me a great honor and solemn responsibility.
. . .
To all of the thousands of good and decent Americans I’ve met who want nothing more than a better chance, a fighting chance, to all of you, I have a simple message: Hold on a little longer,” he said. “A better America begins tonight.” ~ Mitt Romney

Text of Governor Romney’s victory speech, given tonight in Manchester, NH, may read here.

Video of Romney’s victory speech:

“Four years ago Barack Obama dazzled us in front of Greek columns with sweeping promises of hope and change. But after we came down to earth… what do we have to show for three and a half years of President Obama.

Is it easier to make ends meet? Is it easier to sell your home or buy a new one? Have you saved what you needed for retirement? Are you making more in your job? Do you have a better chance to get a better job? Do you pay less at the pump?” ~ Mitt Romney

► Jayde Wyatt

As a conservative American, married for forty years to the love of my life, father of six and grandfather of seventeen, and as a serial entrepreneur, I am deeply concerned, as are many, for the future of this great and blessed land. I have spent my career in business, banking and private equity. As an investor in and advisor to leading financial and business enterprises, I have witnessed the consequences of our Administration’s failed policies and ideologies. Even so, my concerns are not for me as much as they are for my progeny. A friend whom I have known for nearly seven years also echoes these same concerns. I came to know this great man, and his beautiful wife, when talking one morning about what could be done about the declining direction we were heading in our country, and their mutual yearning to make a critical difference in that direction. They had spent most of the previous decade in serving others, first in restoring confidence in and turning around the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and second in leading the effort to turnaround a severely broken state as Governor and First Lady. We talked about the threats and challenges we faced as a nation, and what might be done to move our country forward. We discussed the alternatives proposed by the left, and how those options could undermine the very foundations of our freedom. We knew it was a pivotal time for America – we just didn’t imagine then how far off course we could be taken. Even so, they were serious about embarking on a commitment few would ever consider, running for POTUS in the 2008.

Over the past seven years I have witnessed the heart of good friends, Mitt and Ann Romney. In public and private moments they always exhibit great character, class and caring commitment to that which matters most, to a cause greater than self. Their willing sacrifice for the Presidency is not driven by personal appetite for glory, power or position, but by a sincere desire to serve our Nation and each American. Illustrative of the point, Mitt Romney will most likely be the first individual in history, if elected President, to donate his salary to charity, as he has done in previous calls to serve. Sure, he can afford it, right? Mitt Romney’s business success and consequential wealth creation has been prominently discussed in the press and will continue to be fodder for the media as the class warfare campaign of Barack Obama unfolds. The fabrications of the media would paint Mitt Romney as aloof and out of touch – how could a person of such wealth and intelligence be anything else? Most Americans cannot fathom the thought of such abundance, and would expect anyone of such wealth to be as the media or others might paint them, elite and disconnected with the common man. When you think about it, most individuals who have risen to the height of Mitt Romney’s success become consumptive and at times, “self-exiled” in their abundance. Their personal lifestyle typically reflects what most can’t completely comprehend.

Parenthetically, I was recently co-teaching a financial markets MBA course at a leading university. The students were asked what they would do with a $25 million windfall – how they would invest it and/or how they would spend it. It was an interesting exercise, as some chose to invest the preponderance, while others chose philanthropy and others chose to consume up to 40%. What would you do?

What I do know is what Mitt and Ann Romney have done and are wont to do. They are the very antithesis of the media’s aloof creation. Aside from their great generosity in almsgiving, they have given of themselves, always. They care! And, they relate to you and me. They are as real as real gets, and those who have been touched by a personal experience can attest to who they truly are. Many, many individuals and families have experienced their empathy and caring love through anonymous acts of kindness. Further, their private lives are more like yours and mine than you might imagine. They do for themselves and their family what you and I do for ours – they do not live the life that many might expect.

Mitt and Ann Romney’s commitment to this country is heartfelt and self-evident in a sacrifice most of us would be unwilling to make, given their station in life. Amid their comfort, they and their family have chosen the greater good and set aside personal interest and seeming ease to serve. If anyone wants to know what is in store, seek out those who have served with them in past efforts, and you will come away knowing Mitt and Ann Romney a little better. Somehow the cynic in me doesn’t have confidence that the media will pursue such a course. And, Mitt and Ann Romney are not inclined to self-promotion. That said my hope is that those of us around them might take up the charge.

As we consider the choice before us and who it is that will lead our nation at this critical juncture, we must better understand where we have come from, where we are and why, and what is needed to put us on the right course to restore that which has been lost. With this foundation we can look to the character, competence and capacity of Mitt Romney and why it is so important that he be elected in this season of our nation’s struggles. Uniquely, Mitt Romney’s life and experience has been a preparation for this time, America’s defining moment.

Karen Hughes, former Advisor to President George W. Bush, provides tremendous and experienced insight here.

Jack Welch agrees and recently stated, “In my lifetime, Mitt Romney is the most qualified leader I’ve ever seen run for the Presidency of the United States.”

Prediction: Mr. Obama or Mr. Axelrod will lose their temper in public before November 6th. Axelrod came this close to blowing a gasket at minute 5:45. And this is Mr. Obama’s best guy! Watch his eyes, body language, stuttering, interrupting Wallace, talking over him, raising his voice (FOX video). Obama’s team is scared (check minute 8:20 — Classic!). Related prediction: Obama will fire Axelrod before November 6th. BTW, Axelrod was interrupting Candy Crowley on her show this morning because he did not like the nature of her questions.

Evidence abounds that Mr. Obama and team are scared. His fear, and that of his surrounding team, was described well a week ago by David Parker in his Op-Ed “Obama’s Rage!” Mr. Obama is getting good marks by voters currently for being a nice guy — “the kind of guy you could see yourself sitting down to have a beer with” as they say. Just what we need — a good ole boy that really understands the average guy!

What about decisive leadership and accomplishment? Are we not yet “over it” when it comes to Mr. Obama’s blaming others and taking credit for the successes of others? I am over it! There are lots of people like Obama in business; they never last. They are the talkers, not the doers. They can talk a good line but can rarely execute.

I strongly believe that David Parker is right; Obama is scared. Since the 2008 election cycle, the Democrat party has lost voters to independents and Republicans. Just yesterday, a U.S. Senator publicly stated he’s not sure he can vote for Mr. Obama for president (many Democrats have shifted their support to Gov. Romney as evidenced in part here). And here.

Numerous sources are reporting “anemic” fundraising by the Obama camp. To be certain, they are in a better position financially than the Romney campaign, primarily due to the fact that Mr. Obama had no primary challengers against whom to defend. However, Obama’s fundraising efforts are far behind projections of both the Democrat and Republican political leaders. The Obama campaign is now asking Pres. Clinton to help out (WSJ):

Mr. Clinton is likely to assist the super PAC, called Priorities USA Action, whose anemic fundraising total thus far has unnerved the Obama campaign and senior Democrats.
[...]
“They’re asking for him to do anything,” the Clinton friend said. “Whatever he’s willing to do—to the extent they can get people in a room with him.”

The New York Times is also reporting that the Obama campaign is scrambling to raise more money.

From Wall Street to Hollywood, from doctors and lawyers, the traditional big sources of campaign cash are not delivering for the Obama campaign as they did four years ago. The falloff has left his fund-raising totals running behind where they were at the same point in 2008 — though well ahead of Mr. Romney’s — and has induced growing concern among aides and supporters as they confront the prospect that Republicans and their “super PAC” allies will hold a substantial advantage this fall.
[...]
“They clearly are feeling the pressure,” said one major Obama fund-raiser, who asked for anonymity to characterize his conversations with campaign officials.

Two days ago, Toby Harden wrote a compelling piece titled, “Barack Obama’s re-election bid is already in deep trouble”

Obama will keep trying to talk about something, anything other than the economy — contraception and dogs being the most recent examples — but Romney has the relatively straightforward task of being disciplined enough to talk relentlessly about jobs and the economy.

Certainly, Romney will never win the “guy you’d like to have a beer with” test, as Bush did in 2000. But 2012 will not be about that — there’s more at stake than in 2000. And as Nate Silver argues, Romney has room to grow and favourability ratings at this stage are unreliable indicators for November.
[...]
Even without factoring in the likely negative political impact of, say, Obamacare being struck down by the Supreme Court in June, Obama’s re-election bid is already in deep trouble.

Only a fool would underestimate Obama’s campaign machine, his ability to raise money and the fact that he remains personally likeable to a majority of Americans despite the state of the country. Anyone who argues at this stage that Obama is doomed to defeat is deluding themselves.

But the reality of this campaign is that it is likely to be brutal, very close — and could well result in Mitt Romney becoming the 45th President of the United States next January 20th.

[emphasis added in several places above]

Obama is looking in all corners for votes. He has decided to pick up the frequency of appearance on comedy shows in the hopes of appealing to young voters. See article in the Daily News here.

One simple method to measure the progress or success of a major political campaign is to simply observe which campaign is on the defensive most often. The candidate and his team that is on defense most is failing, no matter what the polls say at the moment. Governor Romney knows this well and it is one reason he has been all over Obama’s record.

Some pundits have criticized Governor Romney lately for not communicating his plans more specifically and how he would govern as president. There is plenty of time for that. Right now, each side is in the process of defining the contest and defining the other guy. In my opinion, Governor Romney is doing a far better job of defining Mr. Obama. Governor Romney is in the process of backing Mr. Obama into a corner. He is very effective at this.

As Mr. Obama becomes more and more cornered, he becomes more and more dangerous and he will lash out. When he does, we will see the real man.

One big reason we need President Romney to take over in January 2013:

Typically, those of the Jewish faith vote Democratic. Recent polls show that 65% voted Democratic in the last election. 

However, I believe that Romney could do quite well with the Jewish vote not only because both are religious minorities and may feel connected as such, but also because of Romney’s personal friendship with Israel’s prime-minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. 

The New York Times released a groundbreaking article about the nearly 40 year friendship between Romney and Netanyahu. According to the article,  the two met in 1976 at Bain and Company and now understand each other so well that they can practically “speak in code.” 

The article goes on to say that it is very rare to have two high profile leaders of different countries with such a long history. This friendship could be very consequential in upcoming years as Israel considers war with Iran for its nuclear weapons program. 

Netanyahu has said that he remains neutral in America’s presidential election, but I think if he had to choose between President Obama and his friend Mitt Romney, he would choose his friend over Obama.  I am sure that Netanyahu is not very favorably inclined to Obama these days due to many reasons, but most recently because of Obama’s “hot mic gaffe” where Obama bemoaned that he had to “work with Netanyahu everyday” to President Sarkozy of France. 

Among friends and family members, discussions will often turn to the presidential campaigns. It is well known that Governor Romney has a strong, optimistic vision and message for America, contrasted with Mr. Obama’s aversion to any discussion of his own record as president (for example, when was the last time he touted his signature legislative “victory” — ObamaSnare?). His rhetoric is mostly negative and serious.

It seems the question always arises, “What do you think the Democrats are going to do to attack Romney?” One answer I hear almost every time goes something like, “Oh, there is no question the Democrats are going to make this one of the nastiest presidential elections of all time! They are going to look for every angle they can to attack Governor Romney’s Christian faith.” Anybody who follows the writings of our friends at Evangelicals for Mitt (“EFM”) and Article VI Blog know these attacks began in earnest about five years ago and really never abated (see John Schroeder’s excellent piece yesterday).

Though the DNC has said, “Attacking a candidate’s religion is out of bounds,” they know such a statement is like an open invitation to the liberal mainstream media and Democrats of all stripes do exactly the opposite. The latest example is the Democrat governor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer’s reference two days ago to Governor Romney’s LDS family background, generations ago. And to what end? Division: a weak attempt to divide Americans of faith. Oh, and deflection from Mr. Obama’s record of course — as always.

I was excited Thursday to read the announcement that Governor Romney would give the commencement address at Liberty University next month — the audience is expected at 48,000 (Liberty University is to Evangelicals what BYU is to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). Minutes after receiving the news alert, I sent an email to Nancy French at EFM asking if she might like to write a brief guest post for MRC (little did I know that she had just brought her husband David home from the hospital with a concussion — she reports that David is recovering well). Charles Mitchell at EFM wrote this piece about the announcement.

David French is relentless in his support of Governor Romney for president; even with a concussion he was somehow lucid enough to provide these excellent thoughts for National Review Online yesterday regarding Governor Romney’s speech May 12th. In my opinion, should Governor Romney be elected POTUS, the national attention he receives at the Liberty University commencement address will be exceeded only by his Tampa and inaugural speeches.

Interesting Factoid: Mark DeMoss, a trustee of Liberty University and a nationally prominent Evangelical gave an outstanding speech at BYU January 24, 2012. Referring to the invitation to speak at BYU, he said it was, “one of the highest honors I have received.” His BYU speech is truly outstanding and worth watching in its entirety.

Unfortunately, in the next six months, there will be many enemies of religious freedom that will do everything in their power to divide people of faith in the battle tested tactics of “divide and conquer.” We saw it this week. Jayde referred to it in her “Bigot Hall of Shame” post of April 6th referring to O’Donnell’s MSNBC lies that he later admitted were wrong.

Never forget Mr. Obama’s central campaign strategy: DIVIDE — DISTORT — DISTRACT — DEFLECT… Mr. Obama will use any person, entity, and message to take voters’ minds away from his record as POTUS.

Once before, I mentioned Dennis Prager, one of my favorite radio talk show hosts; one who is nationally syndicated. He refers often to his faith — he is an orthodox Jew. In light of the Obama strategy to relentlessly divide Americans on class, gender, faith, ethnicity, etc. and with this week’s announcement of the Liberty University address, I decided to include a segment from Dennis Prager’s radio program. Prager provides excellent reasoning to illustrate that he perfectly understands what he calls “the Evangelical argument” — also included are his thoughts on Romney and the presidential election. ABSOLUTELY EXCELLENT (crescendo to the end):

“Bigotry and intolerance, silenced by argument, endeavors to silence by persecution, in old days by fire and sword, in modern days by the tongue.” ~ Charles Simmons

“Bigotry and judgment are the height of insecurity.” ~ Jasmine Guy

“Bigotry or prejudice in any form is more than a problem; it is a deep-seated evil within our society.” ~ Judith Light

Mitt Romney has just been given a BIG helping of Special K…

Ohio Governor John Kasich and Arizona Senator Jon Kyl are keen to support Governor Romney ‘s campaign for the presidency. Ohio Lt. Gov Mary Taylor is also standing with Romney.

Serving as an important link to the northeast and midwest, here’s the latest from the beautiful Buckeye State:

Announcing his support, Governor Kasich said, “The biggest issue in this presidential election will be who can make the economy stronger so that America’s families can be stronger. I’m for Mitt Romney because he’s got the proven experience as a manager and as a job creator that America needs right now. The progress we’ve made in Ohio is hampered by a White House that can’t make up its mind and which can’t set the right course for our economy. Mitt Romney’s got what it takes to get us back on track and I look forward to working with him to make his campaign in Ohio and across the country a success.”

Lt. Gov. Taylor said, “With job creation being Ohio’s top priority, the presidential race is going to be about whose policies can help us continue to get back on our feet. The tax-and-spend policies we see now from the White House are only barriers to our efforts to get Ohioans working again. By contrast, Mitt Romney has a deep understanding of the needs of job creators and will put that experience and know-how to work for Ohioans and the nation, and I’m happy to support his campaign for the presidency.”

Romney responds:

“I am proud to have earned the support of Ohio Governor Kasich and Ohio Lt. Gov. Taylor,” said Mitt Romney. “This might be the most important election in a generation. Our country can continue on its current path, or we can choose another path – one with lower spending, more jobs, and less debt. Ohio will be a critical – and possibly deciding – state in November. Having the support of Governor Kasich and Lt. Gov. Taylor will be vital in our efforts to defeat President Obama and change the direction of the country.”

Background on Governor Kasich:
Governor John Kasich was elected in 2010. Previously he served for 18 years in the U.S. House of Representatives where he was chairman of the Budget Committee and the architect of the first balanced budget in decades. In his first year as governor, he closed an historic $8 billion budget shortfall without a tax increase and instead cut taxes by $800 million. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on Gov. Kasich’s watch Ohio has created more than 82,000 jobs –the most in the Midwest and the fourth largest increase in the nation – and both Standard & Poors and Moody’s have raised Ohio’s credit outlook from negative to stable.

Background on Lt. Gov. Taylor:

Lt. Gov. Taylor was elected with Gov. Kasich in 2010. Previously she served in the Ohio House of Representatives and as Auditor of State. As Lt. Gov. she oversees the Department of Insurance and leads the Administration’s effort to streamline and update Ohio’s regulatory policies.

From the magnificent Grand Canyon State, which attracts five million visitors per year, comes the call from Senator Jon Kyl to unite behind Governor Romney:

Announcing his support, Senator Kyl said, “After a long primary, it is time for the Republican Party to come together and support the candidate who will defeat President Obama. That is why I am proud to support Mitt Romney. President Obama’s record is full of broken promises and failed policies. Mitt Romney will restore American greatness at home and abroad. He has a bold economic plan that will create jobs and help middle class families prosper. He will also make the 21st century an American century and regain America’s respected status in the world. These next months will be hard fought and change will not come easy, but I am proud to stand with Mitt and to do anything I can to make sure he is our next president.”

Romney:

“Senator Kyl has been a leader in the Senate in the fight to cut spending, make government accountable, and to protect our country,” said Mitt Romney. “I am proud to have the support of someone who shares my vision for getting our country on the right track by allowing the private sector to flourish and getting government out of the way. Senator Kyl has been a tremendous public servant for Arizona and I look forward to working with him to reach out to Arizona voters over the next few months.”

Background on Senator Kyl:

Senator Kyl Was First Elected To The U.S. Senate In 1994. For over four years, Kyl has been the Senate Minority Whip. He also served eight years in the U.S. House and was a lawyer before entering government. He and his wife Caryll have two children.

As the GOP’s presumptive nominee and 2012 standard bearer, Romney is in Arizona today to speak at the 2012 RNC State Chairmen’s Meeting. It’s the last formal meeting before the nomination convention in August in Tampa; those running Republican organizations at the state level will be in attendance.

C-Span will air it LIVE at 3:45pm (ET). CNN will provide a livefeed here.

From PBS NewsHour:
GOP Establishment Gets Behind Romney
By Christina Bellantoni, Terence Burlij
April 20, 2012:

It’s a big day for Mitt Romney, who will be embraced by GOP establishment figures during the Republican National Committee’s meeting of state chairmen and officials in Scottsdale, Ariz.

All week he’s been collecting endorsements from governors and other top lawmakers — including House Speaker John Boehner …
[...]
The unity weekend is intended to help the entire party shift focus onto the general election.

Santorum supporters are joining Romney:

A top RNC official contended Thursday that enthusiasm for Mr. Romney, who has struggled at times to connect with the party’s conservative base, is on the rise.

“Romney is getting conservatives on this committee to rally behind him,” said Illinois RNC member Demetra DeMonte, the elected secretary of the RNC and a founding member of the RNC’s Conservative Caucus. Ms. DeMonte had originally favored Mr. Santorum, who often outpaced Mr. Romney in primaries and caucuses among evangelical voters and tea party activists.

The unity weekend is intended to help the entire party shift focus onto the general election.

★ UPDATE - Watch Romney’s speech here.

By the way, the Romney campaign is giving away FREE bumper stickers. Get yours now; click here!

(emphasis added to endorsements/article)

► Jayde Wyatt

These next 6+ months are going to be fascinating to watch. There are dozens of video clips of very specific promises and commitments Mr. Obama made on a variety of very important national issues. This short video is a good example of promises made.

“I’ve been looking at some video clips on YouTube of President Obama – then candidate Obama – going through Iowa making promises. The gap between his promises and his performance is the largest I’ve seen, well, since the Kardashian wedding and the promise of ’til death do we part.” ~ Mitt Romney

“I think it is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises – but only performance is reality.” ~ Harold S. Geneen

William McGurn is an editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal — he writes the “Main Street” column for the Journal. Two days ago, he wrote “The ‘Likable’ Barack Obama”

Subtext:

In 1980, Ronald Reagan zeroed in on the incompetence of Jimmy Carter, a good and decent man. That should be Mitt Romney’s strategy in 2012.

Between now and November 6th, I expect to see many comparisons to the Carter/Reagan contest of 1980; there are just too many similarities to ignore. However, I think Obama will eventually be critiqued by historians as a greater failure by comparison. That said, we can never allow ourselves to become complacent in our work to elect Mitt Romney as our next president.

There are tens of millions of voters out there that will vote on a smile, charisma, a good speech, and “likability.” Barack Obama can never be underestimated.

By WILLIAM MCGURN

How likable is Barack Obama?

Very likable, it seems, at least in contrast to his GOP rival. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll released a few days ago, Americans by a more than 2-to-1 ratio say the president is more “friendly and likable” than Mitt Romney.

Look at the photo above — what’s not to like? In this American Idol age in which image is everything, it is no wonder that the casual voter will feel perfectly fine voting for the one they think they know rather than for the new guy. Especially if the new guy likes the Red Sox.

Many Republicans, and especially conservatives, can find these numbers hard to credit. Some note that the poll sampling favors Democrats and thus artificially inflates the president’s numbers. Still others have come to dislike President Obama so much that it makes them suspicious when they read numbers indicating they are in the minority.

The focus on likability is a mistake. It’s a mistake, first, for Democrats if they believe likability will be enough for Mr. Obama to win re-election come November. It’s even more of a mistake for those Republicans who believe that the only way to defeat the president is to get fellow Americans to dislike him as much as they do.

McGurn referred to “the unwitting arrogance” of Hilary Rosen and how the Obama administration trashed her in order not to appear connected to her.

Republicans ought not make this mistake with Mr. Obama. When Americans look at the president, many see a loving father with personal values they admire and an attractive wife and children. The administration understands this, which is why a recent Internet campaign ad asking voters to “help the Obamas stand up for working Americans” did so over a photo of the president, his wife and his two daughters.

I have seen this ad all over the Internet. It is most appealing. Mr. Obama is a nice guy!

Resurgent Republic, a conservative-leaning public research firm, found the same likability at work in recent focus groups of independents who had voted for Mr. Obama in 2008. The good news for Mr. Obama is that “these Obama Independents still like the president.”

The bad news for him is that “[w]hen asked what they like most about the president, participants refer almost solely to personal traits like his character and speaking skills. At best, they credit President Obama for trying.”

That helps explain why the same poll that showed the president more likable than Mr. Romney went on to report that a majority nonetheless thought the former Massachusetts governor would do a better job with the economy.

I would like to speak to one person who thinks that Mr. Obama would do a better job with the economy over Governor Romney — I have not met one yet.

Mr. Obama ought to be worried. Sixty-four percent also say the country is on the wrong track; [...] a number of Americans who voted for Mr. Obama in 2008 are open to the idea that someone else could do a better job.

Now, the president’s likability doesn’t mean Mr. Romney shouldn’t go on the offensive. It does mean he ought to attack hardest where Mr. Obama is at his weakest: his failed policies. [...]

He also suggests conservatives drive home Obama’s incompetence.

Mr. Romney is hardly the first Republican presidential aspirant to take that tack against a Democratic incumbent. In 1980, Ronald Reagan zeroed in on Jimmy Carter’s competence. Plenty of Americans thought President Carter was a good and decent man too—but by election day Mr. Reagan had persuaded them that his rival just wasn’t up to the job.

The day after that election, Mr. Reagan’s pollster, Richard Wirthlin, explained the campaign this way: “We saw the opportunity for a role reversal—that is, by the end of the campaign, I think we came very close to having people look upon Ronald Reagan as more presidential than Jimmy Carter.”

Mr. Romney now has a similar opportunity. Certainly he can point out that Mr. Obama has no excuses. If ever the stars were in alignment for liberal Democratic policies to shine, it was during the first two years of Mr. Obama’s presidency, after he had handily defeated John McCain and been sent to Washington with huge, veto-proof majorities in Congress.

Mr. Romney already has the votes of those who dislike Mr. Obama. The votes he needs are there for the asking: folks who like Mr. Obama but have serious doubts about his leadership as president.

[emphasis added]

“Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence.” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte

Humor? (hat tip to Steve Miller from Wisconsin for this image below the fold) Read more…

What about this segment from Hannity Wednesday night? As I was thinking of a title for this short post, all kinds of descriptions came to mind. The one that kept coming to my mind was “SMACK DOWN!” — Malkin style.

We try to stick to brief video clips here on MRC, but I decided to post this 6:58 video because a) it is so good, and b) it so typifies the deception coming from the Left in this country right now.

Tamara Holder was asked by Hannity this question, “Cite to me one area of success, in the economy, where we are better off than we were four years ago?”

Holder answers the question with complete confidence. And she is totally wrong. Her answer indicates she is one of three things: 1) Ignorant, 2) Mistaken, or 3) Lying. Since her comeback to Hannity was one of absolute confidence (dare I say arrogance?), I believe she intentionally posits a lie — absolutely!

But why does she lie? Because many TV viewers believe the lie. It is happening all the time in the old media. Obama’s team knows that a large number of voters will perform no primary research to prove or disprove what they watch on television. If Obama surrogates can make false claims with impunity, it doesn’t matter if they are later proven to be false — the damage is done when the voter hears the lie in the first place.

Oh, and one of the best parts of this clip is Tamara Holder’s typical condescending rhetoric as she used this phrase, “The average person does not really understand . . . “ Oh really?

We, “the average” people, simply don’t understand what? That you Tamara are elitist and are doing everything you can to deflect and distract for Mr. Obama?

FACT: Obama took office January 2009 when unemployment was at 7.8 percent; we are currently at 8.2 percent. She answered the question by saying unemployment is lower. My recommendation to every visitor to this site is to listen very carefully to every “fact” quoted by any liberal that is blindly bidding for Obama between now and November 6th. They are not above the blatant tactics exhibited last night by Holder. BTW, see three related posts here, here, and here.

Note: Malkin is over the top in stating Mr. Obama is not a nice guy and for correcting Gov. Romney in this regard. Gov. Romney is a gentleman and a statesman and Malkin is angry that the old media is always giving Obama a pass in his attacks of those who are working hard for America. I forgave her.

“I always say the truth is best even when we find it unpleasant. Any rat in a sewer can lie. It’s how rats are. It’s what makes them rats. But a human doesn’t run and hide in dark places, because he’s something more. Lying is the most personal act of cowardice there is.” ~ Nancy Farmer, The House of the Scorpion