I'm sure there must be very little joy in 'Mudville', aka the Barry re-election team, tonight. Because, you see, after what has been a very well orchestrated, and really quite nasty, effort consisting of a constant barrage of vicious attacks by the Barry campaign for weeks, they have little to show for it. I can only assume that the attacks, all of which were focused specifically on assailing Mitt Romney’s character and the making of all manner of questionable charges about his stewardship of Bain Capital, have produced a great deal of disappointment regarding the results, or lack of, that this assault actually achieved. Apparently this wholesale attack has been a bit less fruitful then they had hoped, judging by the results of the latest national poll released by The New York Times. It's that poll that now shows Romney with a slight edge. Granted, it's within the margin of error, but considering the level of pure vitriol that has been directed at Romney, I'd say that that's still a significant accomplishment.
So with little or no record on which to run, and with an economy mired in slow growth, unemployment stuck above eight percent, actually higher than that if we're being honest, the Barry team must now face the very real possibility that it is unloading some of its only rhetorical ammunition without getting much in return. And nowhere near the result that it had been so desperately hoping for. And I have to say that I find it more than a little humorous that after burning through a whopping $100 million of his money on these disgustingly deceptive campaign ads, Barry has failed to establish any kind of a lead over his rival. The poll, if it can be trusted, after all it does come from The New York Times, suggests an extraordinarily dangerous possibility for Barry: that concerns about the dismal economy just may end up trumping all other issues and provide Romney with a teflon coating, of sorts, with which he can deflect the bullets of the grinding Barry "Almighty" attack machine.
The poll puts Romney slightly ahead, 45 to 43 percent. But perhaps even more serious for Barry is the fact that only 39 percent of those polled say they approve of his handling of the economy, compared to 44 percent in April, while 55 percent say they disapprove, and that's up from 48 percent. Meanwhile, Barry’s overall approval rating, which had been flirting with a rise above that crucial 50 percent barrier, currently stands at 46 percent, according to the daily Gallup tracking poll. The New York Times puts Barry’s approval at 44 percent. The barrage against Romney from 'Team Barry' has included charges, many of which were widely questioned by independent observers, that he presided over the offshoring of jobs as head of Bain Capital, as well as suggestions that he may have cheated on his taxes. Nothing, at least so far, has been considered by the campaign as going too far. And it seems to matter very little that the accusations being made have no basis in actual fact.
But all of the unrelenting attacks by Barry may also be having a subtler and somewhat adverse effect on his own campaign. Because Barry, at least appears to be having some trouble meeting his fundraising goals and must now log countless miles traversing the country in an effort to fill his coffers. In just the last six months he's had more that 80 fundraisers. The financial shortfall is reflective of the depleted enthusiasm for Barry among his once very enthusiastic supporters, who have watched as he has essentially morphed from the candidate of "Hope and Change", and into your standard politician who's willing to do, or say, whatever it takes to ensure his own political survival. Barry's team has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at Romney, and has really very little to show for their efforts. But I'd be willing to bet that that's not going to be causing them to rethink their tactics or to diminish the level their attacks anytime soon. Barry is banking on the fact that voters simply won't research what's being said
So we now have a guy whose major claim to fame when running for the presidency back in 2008 was that he was a different kind of politician, he was going to be above all of the nastiness and pettiness in Washington. Sadly, such is not the case and just 4 short years after making such claims he's now proving to be worse than your typical politician, demonstrating a level of gutter politics not seen in quite some time. It would seem that there is nothing that he, or someone on his team, will not accuse his opponent of having done, going so far as to claim that Gov Romney is actually a felon. So because he has managed to accomplish not one positive thing during his time in office, we are now made to endure all manner of disgusting behavior in his effort to distract attention away from his abysmal record. His actions continue to be 'un-presidential' and are quite indicative of the Chicago-style of politics. He demeans his office and really makes himself appear to be undeserving of the privilege of holding it.
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