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Why Romney Is Slipping
SEPT. 24, 2012
Mitt Romney said in an
interview aired on Sunday that his campaign “doesn’t need a turnaround.” He told CBS News’s “60 Minutes” that he is tied with President Obama; he has a
“very effective campaign; it’s doing a very good job;” and all he needs to do
to win is keep repeating his plan to restore economic freedom.
That’s an outright denial of
political reality, but Mr. Romney’s willingness to stray from the truth is at
the root of what’s really going on. His campaign has been losing ground since
the two political conventions. All the reliable national polls now show Mr.
Obama ahead, and in two cases substantially
so — beyond the margin of error. A variety of polls also shows Mr. Obama with
growing leads in most of the important swing states.
To some extent, Mr. Romney’s
diminishing stature is because of two recent statements that revealed his
deficiencies to a newly interested audience. He falsely suggested that the
Obama administration was sympathetic to the violent Muslim protests in Libya and Egypt, illustrating his ignorant
and opportunistic critique of foreign policy. And he was caught on video
belittling nearly half the country for an overreliance on government handouts.
These moments, though, were
not fumbles or gaffes. They were entirely consistent with the dismissive
attitude Mr. Romney has routinely shown toward non-Americans or the nonrich.
Now even long-undecided voters are starting to catch on and dismiss him.
In Wisconsin,
for example, a hotly contested state that has veered Republican in recent
elections, Mr. Obama leads Mr. Romney by 17
points when voters are asked who
cares about their needs and problems, according to a Quinnipiac University/New
York Times/CBS News poll published last week of likely voters. The poll found
that only 10 percent of voters said his policies would favor the middle class.
(This poll was taken before the video showing his disdain for 47 percent of the
country.)
Voters don’t react positively
when a candidate speaks incomprehensibly about taxes, as Mr. Romney did on “60
Minutes.” He said he would lower everyone’s tax rate by 20 percent but that
everyone would wind up paying essentially the same taxes because he would limit
unspecified deductions and exemptions. Even on its face, that makes little
sense. If everyone will pay the same taxes, how does that stimulate growth or
reduce unfairness? In fact, tax experts say the rate cut is such a huge benefit
for the rich that it can’t be balanced by curbing their deductions. But
listeners don’t have to do the math to calculate how fundamentally hollow the
proposal is.
Asked about the government’s
responsibility to the 50 million Americans without health insurance, Mr. Romney
said they already have access to health care: in emergency rooms. That, of
course, is the most expensive and least effective way of providing care, as
someone who once advocated universal care has reason to know. But it also reeks
of contempt for those left behind by the current insurance system, suggesting
that they must suffer with illness until the point where they need an
ambulance.
Mr. Romney is free to pursue
this shallow, cavalier campaign for six more weeks, but he shouldn’t be
surprised if voters increasingly choose not to pay attention.
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