• Mitt Romney,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    Update: Ad Pulled – President 2012: Mitt Romney Releases Rick Perry Debate Blopper Video Which Asks: Is Perry Ready to Lead?

    +++++Update+++++

    The video previously released by the Mitt Romney campaign has been pulled.

    “Disgusting” isn’t too strong a word to use here. The ad isn’t a hit on policy or another candidate’s record in office. It’s a very personal hit, meant to suggesting without saying outright that the other candidate is a blithering idiot, by using selective video editing. That kind of treatment can literally be done to anyone who has ever spent any amount of time in the public eye over the past half century. It’s funny when Conan O’Brien does it as a comedy bit. Not so much, when a candidate does it to a competitor to suggest that another candidate is a fool.

    I think Mitt was pissed off that Rick Perry mentioned the “illegal” gardener at the Las Vegas GOP debate last night and shot a message across the bow of Team Perry.

    But, this won’t be the last nasty and ugly ad from Romney or Perry.

    Republicans need to nominate someone who can challenge President Obama in a debate. Can Rick Perry?

    Mitt Romney ridicules Rick Perry’s debate performances in this back-handed slap of a web video.

    Looks like Mitt wants to go for a Perry knock out and early knock out at that. Well, after all, Perry is sitting on all of that campaign cash. Why give Perry any opening?

    The airwaves are going to get nasty, personal and ugly pretty quick now.

  • Mitt Romney,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012: Mitt Romney Releases Rick Perry Debate Blopper Video Which Asks: Is Perry Ready to Lead?

    Republicans need to nominate someone who can challenge President Obama in a debate. Can Rick Perry?

    Mitt Romney ridicules Rick Perry’s debate performances in this back-handed slap of a web video.

    Looks like Mitt wants to go for a Perry knock out and early knock out at that. Well, after all, Perry is sitting on all of that campaign cash. Why give Perry any opening?

    The airwaves are going to get nasty, personal and ugly pretty quick now.

  • Mitt Romney,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012: Rick Perry Attacks Mitt Romney on Immigration – Really?

    Rick Perry and Mitt romney take off the gloves regarding illegal immigration

    Yeah, not too smart.

    Put it this way, Cain, Bachmann, Santorum and the rest would be thrilled for Perry to talk about immigration all day long. Perry, probably out of personal pique, doesn’t seem to understand that his real problem is not Romney but the other Tea Party-friendly candidates who have eaten his lunch and taken his voters.

  • Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: One Word that Comes to Mind – Oh My Rick Perry!

    Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a Republican presidential debate Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011, in Las Vegas

    According to the latest Washington Post-Pew Research Center Poll.

    This poll was conducted for The Washington Post and the Pew Research Center by telephone October 13 to 16, 2011, among a random national sample of 1,007 adults, including users of both conventional and cellular phones. The results from the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points; the margin of error is 5.5 points for Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by Princeton Survey Research Associates International (PSRAI) of Princeton, NJ.

    As I name a few Republican candidates for president please tell me the ONE word that comes to mind. First, [ITEM].

    Ouch!

    Frankly, with these perceptions, I really do not see how Texas Governor Rick Perry can win the nomination.

    I would say that you can put a fork in him – Perry’s Done.

  • Herman Cain,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Rick Perry Collapses as Herman Cain Gains in Positive Intensity

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Rick Perry’s image is suffering, with his Positive Intensity Score among Republicans familiar with him down to 15, and below 20 for the first time. Meanwhile, Herman Cain’s score is now 30, the highest for any candidate this year.

    The results are based on Gallup Daily tracking from Sept. 19-Oct. 2. Gallup calculates candidate Positive Intensity Scores as the percentage of strongly favorable opinions minus the percentage of strongly unfavorable opinions of each candidate among Republicans and Republican leaners familiar with the candidate.

    The movement in Perry’s and Cain’s scores follows recent campaign developments, including poor reviews of Perry’s performance in the September debates and Cain’s surprising win in the Sept. 24 Florida straw poll.

    In addition to Perry, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul established new low Positive Intensity Scores this week, at 5 and 3, respectively. Bachmann was among the highest-rated candidates in June, peaking at 24, but has seen a steady decline since she posted a score of 20 in Aug. 1-14 tracking. Paul has not been rated as positively, with a high of 16 in May, and has registered in the single digits in all but one update since late May.

    The graph says it all.

    Mitt Romney has regained front-runner status.

  • Michele Bachmann,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012 GOP Florida Poll Watch: Romney 30% Vs. Perry 24% Vs. Gingrich 10%



    According to the latest PPP Poll.

    Rick Perry’s led the Republican field in every Southern state that we’ve polled since he entered the Presidential race…until now.  Mitt Romney continues to lead the way in Florida with 30% to 24% for Perry, 10% for Gingrich, 8% for Ron Paul, 7% for Herman Cain, 6% for Michele Bachmann, 3% for Jon Huntsman, 2% for Rick Santorum, and 1% for Gary Johnson.

    Perry had a poor debate performance in Florida Thursday night and our results suggest that the negative coverage he received from that did hurt him some in the state.  We started this poll on Thursday night before the debate and in those interviews the race was neck and neck with Romney at 33% and Perry at 31%.  But in interviews done Friday-Sunday Romney’s lead expanded to double digits at 29-19.  More telling might be what happened to Perry’s favorability numbers after the debate- on Thursday night he was at 63/23 with Florida Republicans.  Friday-Sunday he was at 48/36.  Perry’s poor performance may or may not prove to be a game changer nationally but it definitely appears to have hurt his image in the key state where it occurred.

    Perry was down in Florida even before the debate though and one thing that may be hurting him is his comments on Social Security. 49% of voters disagree with his ‘Ponzi Scheme’ comments to only 37% who agree and with the folks who dissent from that statement his deficit against Romney goes all the way up to 19 points at 35-16.  It’s also noteworthy that seniors are the age group where Perry faces the biggest deficit to Romney at 34-26.

    Rick Perry was hurt from his Florida debate performance. Perry may not be OUT but he is teetering on the brink.

    If Chris Christie finally decides not to run, then the GOP looks like they will SETTLE for Mitt Romney.

    Also, note that Michele Bachmann is in “free fall” and with today’s Iowa poll one wonders, if she is going to be able to raise sufficient funds to compete there.

  • Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012 GOP Ohio Poll Watch: Perry 42% Vs. Romney 38%

    According to the latest Quinnipiac University Poll.

    Among the several candidates hoping to succeed the president, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads the pack in Ohio, attracting 24 percent of the support. Texas Gov. Rick Perry is close behind with 20 percent and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who still hasn’t announced her presidential intentions, rounds out the top three with 9 percent. Businessman Herman Cain garners 7 percent and Texas Rep. Ron Paul receives 6 percent. None of the remaining candidates polls above 4 percent. When the two Republican front-runners are paired against each other in a head-to-head matchup, 42 percent back Perry while 38 percent back Romney.

    All of the rest of the candidates are supperfluous at this point. If Chris Christie or Sarah Palin were to run then there might be a change. But, for now it is a race between Perry and Romney.

    For now, in Ohio, the two candidates are virtually tied.

  • Barack Obama,  Mitt Romney,  Politics,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012 Ohio Poll Watch: Obama 44% Vs. Romney 42% or Obama 44% Vs. Perry 41%


    The 2008 Presidential Electoral College Results


    According to the latest Quinnipiac University Poll.

    In Ohio, voters disapprove of the job Obama is doing as president, 53 percent to 42 percent. Independents give the president a lower score: 56 percent disapprove of his job performance while 38 percent approve. He receives majority support from his base (77 percent approve) but 19 percent of Democrats give him a poor job-performance grade. Men disapprove by 58 percent to 39 percent while the disapproval rate among women is much narrower, 49 percent to 45 percent.

    By a 51 percent to 43 percent margin, Ohio voters say the president does not deserve to be re-elected. Again, he struggles among independents: 53 percent don’t want to give him a second term while 37 percent do.

    Obama maintains a slim edge over his top two challengers in Ohio, a state he won in 2008 by five points. The president  leads Romney, 44 percent to 42 percent, and tops Perry, 44 percent to 41 percent. Obama edges Perry among independents, 38 percent to 35 percent. But that group is split between Obama and Romney, each of whom takes 39 percent.

    In this key battleground state, that the GOP Presidential nominee needs to win in the Electoral College, the Republicans are licking their chops for a pick up. This probably reflects more displeasure with President Obama and his policies than a desire for the Republican candidates.

    Nevertheless, the President is upside in the approval ratings and by a 51% Vs. 43% margin, voters are saying he does not deserve re-election.