As he tours Sandy devastation with Chris Christie, swing state polls break for the president

[Douglas Carpenter]

The wave for Obama

As he tours Sandy devastation with Chris Christie, swing state polls break for the president

By Joan Walsh


President Obama is greeted by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie upon his arrival in Atlantic City on Wednesday. (Credit: AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Weirdly, Mitt Romney was counting on a “wave” of anti-Obama voters to carry him to victory Nov. 6. But the waves have all gone President Obama’s way, and I’m not making a tasteless Sandy joke. With reliable polls in Ohio and Wisconsin Wednesday showing Obama with solid leads there, Romney has almost no path to victory on Tuesday. Polls today also showed him holding smaller leads in the swing states of Virginia, Florida and Nevada, and tied in North Carolina.

It’s still theoretically possible that lingering post-Sandy problems – and they will be massive – could sour voters’ moods or hamper turnout on Tuesday. This race is still tight. But Romney’s inability to close the deal after his Oct. 3 debate surge is looking permanent.

White working class voters in both Ohio and Wisconsin are key to Obama’s strength there, according to the latest polls. That’s why Romney has gone up with more dishonest ads, both about the auto restructuring and welfare. His campaign turned to the welfare lie in August, claiming Obama had “gutted” the program’s work requirements, as polls showed Romney having trouble sealing the deal with working class whites. Campaign advisors told the New York Times anonymously that Romney was going to focus on “cultural” issues – read racial issues – to court those white voters. Romney and Paul Ryan stepped away from the welfare lies after everyone from Bill Clinton to Newt Gingrich said there was no evidence for the claim. But there it is again, in ads going up in Ohio, Wisconsin, Colorado and Florida, as Romney tries to tap into traditional white taxpayer association between welfare and minorities.

Romney’s lies about the auto industry are arguably more brazen and baseless, and they’ve drawn unprecedented rebukes from officials at GM and Chrysler. But so far they’re not working either. Even as worried Ohio Chrysler employees sought reassurance that they’d keep their jobs, polls were showing that Ohio voters believe Obama cares more about them than Romney does. Almost half of white working class voters believe the economy is getting better, which helps account for why Obama is tied among those voters while he trails by up to 30 points with the same demographic in Florida and Virginia, according to the New York Times.


http://www.salon.com/2012/10/31/the_wave_for_obama/

[neversaydie]

1. great photo!!

thanks for sharing. Watching Obama talk about recovery efforts, with Christie right behind him, made me hopeful that some of the swings would see that THIS is what government is for. this is what it does. I was glad when Christie told the Romney people that he didn't have time for a stupid walking tour (photo op) of the disaster area. no time for politics. This is the part of Christie I respect.

[vilify]

2. 'cultural issues'

A bunch of desperate lying scumbags.