Why is Mitt Romney losing his edge on the economy?

One Republican strategist pointed out that the selection of Paul Ryan as Romney's running mate served as another opportunity for distraction.

"The choice of Ryan might have been brilliant for solidifying the Republican base, but it also introduced a conversation about Medicare and entitlements that we didn't need to have during this election," the strategist said. "So that made for a good two to three weeks where we were fighting a battle that was not on our turf. We need to shift the battlefield back to Republican strength: Debt and taxes and economic growth and policies that promote competitiveness for American businesses."

"We have not been talking about that and so we have been losing ground," the strategist added.

Another recent controversy threatens to further derail the Romney campaign's efforts to return the conversation to the economy: On Monday, the liberal magazine Mother Jones unearthed a secretly taped video in which Romney can be seen at a private fundraiser describing the majority of Mr. Obama's supporters as people who are "dependent on government" and "believe that they are victims." Romney has been forced to answer criticisms over the comments from both the left and the right - distracting from the campaign's efforts to gain traction by offering more specific policy proposals.

The path forward

Regardless of the recent interferences, Republicans are confident that Romney can regain the upper hand on questions about the economy - if it's even true he's lost it.

John Geer, a professor at Vanderbilt University who specializes in polling and campaign advertising, says Romney needs to make a broad - and specific - case for his economic leadership.

"People want jobs, sure, but they want to know that Romney is going to be a better steward of the economy, and that requires a broad message," Geer said. "The problem is that all he's promising doesn't add up... Now he needs to start filling that void."

Even when external events intervene, Holtz-Eakin says, Romney should be hammering home his economic arguments on the campaign trail.

"He certainly has an obvious interest and obligation to respond to international events as they occur, but with his campaign events and the vast artillery of modern campaigns and communications, you don't have to leave [economic issues] out" of the conversation," he said.

"We need to be making sharp, clear, and distinct contrasts between what Barack Obama's record, and how Mitt Romney would take the country on a more positive course," added Holt. "The campaign is attempting to do that and they've just got to keep at it and stay focused."

"I'm hopeful," said Ayres. "The door is open. Romney just needs to walk through it."

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[bbglow]

As one Republican campaign veteran said, "I felt like when I was watching that (47%) video that it was the first time I'd ever seen the real Mitt Romney."

More and more of US feel that way ...

[tsigili]

Simple. The Democratic Party has taken over the media in America, setting up the overthrow of this government, through misinformation. They are totally subversive, and bent on taking over this country, to make it a socialist dictatorship!

[WHAT-IS-HE-SMOKING]

Just like fox news?

[bbglow]

Hyperbole ... the same can be said the extreme right. WE can use name calling also. How would like the extreme right fascist dictatorship?

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Republicans have been redistributing the wealth of middle and working class Americans up to the wealthy for decades. In fact the republican propaganda pitting the 99 percent against each other over the crumbs the rich leave would make Joseph Gobbells nazi minister of propaganda proud. The question remains to be answered whether the 99 percent will continue to vote republicans into office to continue screwing our great nation.

[stevehamilton858]

I don't think so. Abe Lincoln, the founder of Mr. Romney's party is credited with saying, "you can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time". The GOP is living on borrowed time, and if they don't change from their radical constituency, they will be an irrelevant "Rump Party" by 2013. If you know anything at all about equilibrium theory, (which you probably don't, but I do, having studied it for over twenty years) it is clear that a 99%/1% population will fall into disequilibrium. Just think about it, using a modicum of common sense, just as "nature hates a vacuum", serious imbalance will result in the loss of equilibrium. I'm reminded of the Grimm's fairy tale about the stupid person who killed the goose that laid golden eggs, so that he could get all of them first. GOOD MORNING GOP, to paraphrase Robin Williams.

[RollotheNorman]

Not losing, lost. People have finally figured out that he's no better job creator than that other great bizznessman/national savior, Ross Perot.

[Lindag20]

by Repubs_R_Fiscal_Liberals September 20, 2012 9:08 PM EDT
God will take care of him and horse-woman.
---------------
OMG that's funny!!!

[Repubs_R_Fiscal_Liberals]

:)

By the way, Dapper Dan is over on "Romney ridicules Obama on 'change' remark"

[Lindag20]

Come on CBS. You're REALLY bad tonight.

[TimeToEvolve]

The idiot Robbed Me and his Republicon cronies are still puking out the same failed ideas of Reaganomics. The fake, fraudulent "free market" which is about as fixed as you can get. Deregulation that caused the Wall Street Bankster fraud in 2008. Privatization by inefficient, uncaring and greedy Wall Street corporations.

That is why the knucklehead Robbed Me Ryan is losing his edge. How stupid does Robbed Me Ryan think we are?

[washmohickory]

Will CBS put up the story that Obama doesn't 'precisely' know what the debt is - one of the 'real' and 'huge' national security risk according to his own administration? On top of that, he lies about the $1 trillion deficits he inherited. Where is that story?

http://www.inquisitr.com/337614/obama-to-letterman-i-dont-remember-how-much-the-national-debt-is-video/

http://crfb.org/blogs/hillary-clinton-says-national-debt-real-national-security-threat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9jWDsX2Fk

[RollotheNorman]

Seeing as how the debt changes by the second (the debt clock is a bit of theatrical hooey, it's just time X rate of spending, not an actual count) no body could tell you except after a lot of record checking what the total debt was and a given time. My God, man, are your that blind?

[stevehamilton858]

As we say in AA, first things first. Knowing the precise number is a pedantic, second order issue. Trying to find jobs for vets is a first order problem. Getting prepared to get sucked into a war with Iran is another first order problem. As a 25 year veteran CFO, I know whereof I speak. when you're dealing in numbers as large as our national debt, knowing the exact number is not important; it's not like balancing your household budget, where you're spending $200 more a month than you'd like to, where it's important to know just how much of that $200 is truly decisionable.

[Lindag20]

by 1pheasant1 September 20, 2012 8:32 PM EDT
Each month over 700,000 Americans decided they didn't want their jobs anymore under President George W. Bush. The life of poverty was too attractive for them. According to Shallow, it wasn't Bush's fault.
------------
Of course people just LOVE losing their job, their homes and living in their car or in a shelter. Why not, it's SO much better than working.

[1pheasant1]

Dan is going to join them voluntarily.

[Lindag20]

That'll be the day.

[No-soup-for-you]

by Shallow_LibsAre_Cretins
I can harldy wait to get on welfare and food stamps

------------

It really would help if the Republican Congress hadn't passed the Farm Bill, which funds those food stamps, eh?

[Lindag20]

But what would Dan do if he gets fired from his low level IT job for being drunk and loses his BMW and house? He'd NEED welfare and food stamps.

[Repubs_R_Fiscal_Liberals]

God will take care of him and horse-woman.