The Rasmussen polling firm maintains a daily tracking presidential tracking poll, and on Friday Mitt Romney took his biggest lead over Barack Obama to date, 50 – 43. This is Romney’s first time at 50 percent support, although he’s been enjoying a small, fairly consistent lead ever since it became clear he would be the Republican nominee.
Interestingly, “37 percent give the President good or excellent marks for his handling of the economy.” I’m fighting the urge to find those people and prey upon them.
Rasmussen attributes the growing Romney lead to “a disappointing jobs report that raised new questions about the state of the economy.” Actually, virtually everything has been going Romney’s way for the past couple of weeks, as the Obama team lit a series of exploding cigars.
Some of the good Romney polling likely grows from the conclusion of the long Republican primary campaign. The gathering of support around a party’s chosen nominee is usually offset, to some degree, by focused attacks from an opposition that finally has a specific target. The bungled hits on Romney have relieved that pressure, so off to 50 percent he goes.
Romney has not been a passive bystander in his good fortune. He delivered a strong speech on the night he effectively secured the nomination, and he’s got another one coming up at Liberty University’s commencement on Saturday. A few excerpts from Romney’s prepared remarks to the students have been released. Here’s a sample:
Although opportunities seem scarce in this economy, it is not for nothing that you have spent this time preparing. America needs your talent and your energy, all the more now that our country’s in a tough spot. For you and so many young Americans, our current troubles can be discouraging. You are ready for jobs that were supposed to be ready for you. Millions wait on the day when there are jobs for everyone willing to work, and opportunities to match your hopes and your goals. But don’t lose heart, because that day is coming.
In the most practical, everyday terms, the best cultural assets are values as basic as personal responsibility, the dignity of hard work, and, above all, the commitments of family. Take those away, or take them for granted, and so many things can go wrong in a life. Keep them strong, and so many things will go right.
That hits exactly the right note, acknowledging the difficulties we face, while remaining optimistic about our ability to overcome them. Meanwhile, the incumbent President just made headlines by remarking that he sometimes forgets the “magnitude” of the recession. He was speaking at yet another fundraiser, this one in Washington State, after raking in a record $15 million from Hollywood fat cats.
The Romney campaign responded: “It’s not surprising that a president who forgot to create jobs, forgot to cut the debt, and forgot to change Washington has now admitted that he’s forgotten about the recession. In fact, it seems that the president has forgotten that he’s been in office for the last three-and-a-half years. In November, the American people won’t forget.”
Yeah, 50 to 43 percent sounds about right.
