• Paul Ryan,  President 2012

    Video: Paul Ryan Heckled at Iowa State Fair

    Well, you knew it was bound to happen – Paul Ryan being heckled.

    The LEFT likes to push the Alinsky tactics and maybe just maybe they can generate a Macaca moment or a McCain red in the race tantrum.

    Paul Ryan though is from Wisconsin and with all of the BS protests Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker had to undergo, I think he is prepared – with a thick political skin.

    But, the amount of outrage and push from the LEFT, so far in the social media world regarding Ryan, has been mild so far as compared to when Sarah Palin entered the arena.

    Perhaps, the push back from the RIGHT social media has been exponential in growth or Ryan is just such a good candidate.

    We will see.

  • Paul Ryan,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Paul Ryan a Mixed Reaction?

    Romney Ryan 60 Minutes Video: The Romney and Ryan 60 Minutes Interview

    Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney

    According to the latest Gallup/USA Today poll.

    Americans don’t believe GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney hit a home run with his choice of Paul Ryan as a running mate, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, with more of the public giving him lower marks than high ones.

    Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, is seen as only a “fair” or “poor” choice by 42% of Americans vs. 39% who think he is an “excellent” or “pretty good” vice presidential choice.

    I would wait a few weeks and after the national conventions before a “REAL” assessment can be made of Paul Ryan’s impact on the Republican Party ticket. Besides, it is the last few weeks of summer and who is answering the pollsters calls on a weekend?

    Most Americans don’t really recognize Ryan as a national political figure. His name recognition at this point in the campaign is just not that high.

    But, it is interesting that President Obama took time, the first thing this morning in Iowa, to attack Ryan. Guess Team Obama is not reading too much into this early poll.

    Neither should we….

  • Paul Ryan,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Republicans Have Significantly More Voter Engagement

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Sixty-four percent of Americans say they have given quite a lot of thought to the 2012 presidential election, a slightly lower percentage than Gallup measured in July of 2004 and 2008. But Americans are much more engaged in the current election than in the 2000 election.

    But, Republicans are significantly MORE engaged and MORE likely to vote.

    Here is the chart:

    Gallup voter engagement poll by political party

    This is bad news for President Obama and the national Democratic Party.

    With the weekend selection of conservative, Tea Party favorite, Rep. Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate, voter engagement will likely expand and remain high.

    The Paul Ryan selection unites the Republican Party and they WILL turn out to vote.

    Americans are not as engaged in the 2012 election as they were in the 2004 and 2008 elections at similar points in the campaign, but they do seem to pay more attention to election campaigns than to most news stories.

    Republicans currently are more highly engaged in the campaign than Democrats. If that persists, it suggests Republican turnout may be much stronger than Democratic turnout. However, Democrats may not have had as much reason to tune in to the campaign yet, given that most of the news has centered on the Republican nomination. Thought given to the election in September, after the party conventions are held, and in the final stretch of the campaign in October will give a better indication of potential turnout among party groups.

  • Barack Obama,  Electoral College,  Mitt Romney,  Paul Ryan,  President 2012

    Does Paul Ryan Help Mitt Romney in the Electoral College?

    This map is from the interactive site, 270towin.com

    Why, yes, the selection of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate might just very well help the GOP recapture the White House.

    The Electoral College map above illustrates why – namely, Wisconsin and Iowa are moved to red, while Nevada moves to blue from my previous prognostication map which is below.

    2012 Electoral College Final Swing States Poll Watch: Obama 47% Vs. Romney 45%

    Mitt Romney has decided to employ an upper-Midwestern Electoral College vote strategy as opposed to a Hispanic-voter Western states Electoral College strategy. In other words, the key battleground states of Nevada and Colorado will be de-emphasized or even written off (although having just returned from Las Vegas a few days ago, the Romney campaign and Crossroads GPS television ads are omni-present and frequent).

    Most political pundits agree that Paul Ryan will help Romney in Wisconsin. With the failed recall of Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker, Wisconsin might be ripe for a flip from Obama to Romney (polling there shows Romney/Ryan tied with Obama). And, who better to team up with Romney than a “Wisconsin favorite son” in Paul Ryan. Iowa is right next door to Wisconsin and will also be in play.

    Now, this punditry assumes that other key battleground states like Florida, Virginia, Ohio and Florida will also flip from Obama to Romney/Ryan. But, with the addition of Iowa and Wisconsin, Romney/Ryan could afford to lose Virginia and still reach the 270 Electoral College votes required for victory.

    The key battleground states are taking shape – add Iowa and Wisconsin to the mix.

    Tonight, the Electoral College numbers are looking a whole lot better for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

  • Barack Obama,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012: Obama Approval Sinks to 43 Per Cent

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Gallup tracks daily the percentage of Americans who approve or disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president. Daily results are based on telephone interviews with approximately 1,500 national adults; Margin of error is ±3 percentage points.

    And, the CNN and Fox News polls showing President Obama today with a large lead are – well, inaccurate.

    This race with Mitt Romney will be close.

  • Job Creation Index,  Polling,  President 2012

    July Job Creation Index Slips

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Gallup’s U.S. Job Creation Index slipped to +17 in July, after registering at or near +20 from April through June. Despite the drop, the +17 continues to be one of the more positive net hiring values Gallup has recorded since 2009, though it still trails the readings seen as the 2008-2009 recession was just starting.

    The Gallup Job Creation Index is a measure of U.S. adult employees’ perceptions of hiring conditions where they work. On average in July, 34% of all full- and part-time workers said their employers are hiring and expanding the size of their workforces, and 17% said their employers are letting workers go and reducing the size of their workforces, resulting in the +17 net hiring figure.

    The hiring component of the index fell slightly to 34% in July, from 36% in June, while the firing component moved to 17%, from 16%. This backslide in hiring mirrors Americans’ flagging economic confidence in July.

    There appears to be NO sustained economic recovery at this point of the Presidential election cycle. Certainly, President Obama is not going to be able to point to an improving job’s climate the past few months.

    What are the implications?

    These figures will be exploited by the Republican Mitt Romney during the fall campaign.

    Here is the Hiring Vs. Firing Chart for the same time period:

  • Barack Obama,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012

    Mitt Romney to Announce Vice President Via Smart Phone App

    Is Team Romney cutting edge or so 2008?

    This offer is sure to vex all the Obama campaigners who think they alone are on the cutting edge of voter outreach.

    “While I won’t be breaking any news today, I wanted to let you know how to be the first to get the VP scoop with our new Mitt’s VP app,” says Beth Meyers, the senior adviser to Mitt Romney who has led the search for his running mate these many weeks.

    Indeed the big news can be flashed to I-Phones and Androids at the very nanosecond the decision goes public.

    “There’s no telling when that answer might come. But when it does, be the first to find out and access exclusive content,” Ms. Meyers says.

    If Romney had not come up with this obvious way to obtain voter information, he would have been criticised as behind the curve with voter outreach technology. So, Team Romney cannot win on this one.

    It is so 2008 – but then again, so is Team Obama.

    The social media world has caught up with the campaigns.

    On the app, you can get it here – but the announcement will be up on Twitter and Facebook in a flash after it is announced.

    Of course, Team Obama has this cool canvassing app, but surely Romney will not be too far behind. Besides how many states are really in play anyway?

    Five or six maybe?

  • Barack Obama,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 Florida Poll Watch: Obama 48% Vs. Romney 47%

    President Obama and Mitt Romney

    According to the Democratic leaning PPP Polling.

    PPP’s first likely voters poll of Florida finds that it’s likely to take its customary place as one of the most closely contested states in the country this year. Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney by the slightest of margins, 48-47, but Romney would take a small advantage in the state if he added either Marco Rubio or Condoleezza Rice to his ticket.

    Speaking to the general discontent of the electorate this year Florida voters aren’t terribly enamored with either Obama or Romney. Voters narrowly disapprove of the job Obama’s doing, with 50% giving him poor marks to 47% who think he’s doing a good job. But they’re not terribly fond of Romney either, with 46% rating him favorably to 49% with a negative opinion. Still this parity between Obama’s approval and Romney’s favorability numbers is notable- Obama has tended to run well ahead of Romney on that front.

    Obama and Romney are holding their party bases at basically equal levels, with 84% of Democrats supporting Obama and 83% of Republicans committed to Romney. Romney’s holding a 47-40 lead with independents. Obama’s up 51-44 with women, 61-34 with Hispanics, and 58-35 with young voters while Romney’s ahead 50-45 with men, 56-39 with whites, and 52-44 with seniors.

    We tested five potential running mate pairings for Romney in Florida and two of them moved him from a small disadvantage to a small lead. Home state Senator Marco Rubio makes the biggest difference for Romney, pushing him up to a 49-47 lead. Rubio’s approval numbers aren’t earth shattering at 45/42, but his appeal is strong enough to help Romney gain a couple points with both Democrats and Republicans.

    The other difference maker among potential Romney running mates is Condoleezza Rice. She has a 59/28 favorability rating, basically unheard of among politicians today. Republicans (76/15) and independents (62/26) and love her and even with Democrats she’s on narrowly positive ground (42/41). If she was on the ticket Romney’s lead with independents would jump from 7 points to 13, leaving him ahead 46-45 overall.

    Interesting that Florida Senator Marco Rubio pushes Romney into the lead. Mitt Romney, in order to win the Presidency must win Florida.

    Rubio, a Cuban American conservative, would also help Romney with Hispanic voters in Colorado and Nevada.

    This is why, I feel, Rubio is the BEST choice for Romney.

  • Polling,  President 2012

    Poll Watch: Presidential To Do List – Jobs and Government Corruption

    According to the latest Gallup Poll.

    Creating good jobs, reducing corruption in the federal government, and reducing the federal budget deficit score highest when Americans rate 12 issues as priorities for the next president to address. Americans assign much less importance to increasing taxes on wealthy Americans and dealing with environmental concerns.

    Looks to me that Americans do not care too much for the class warfare jibberish of President Obama and the Congressional Democrats. This appears to be an opening for Mitt Romney to exploit the policy issues.

    But, will he?

    Or, will Obama try to pivot toward the center and cut Romney off at the policy pass?

  • Barack Obama,  Mitt Romney,  Polling,  President 2012

    President 2012 Poll Watch: Romney Leading Obama by 5 Points Nationally

    According to the latest Rasmussen Presidential daily tracking poll.

    The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Friday shows Mitt Romney attracting 49% of the vote, while President Obama earns support from 44%. Three percent (3%) prefer some other candidate, and four percent (4%) are undecided.

    The numbers are similar to the 49% to 43% advantage Romney enjoys on the question of who is trusted more to handle the economy.

    Romney’s five-point advantage is the largest enjoyed by either candidate in just over a month. As with any such change in the race, it remains to be seen whether it marks a lasting shift or is merely statistical noise.

    The president’s support has been at either 43% or 44% for six straight days. See tracking history.

    Rasmussen Polling is always seen to be GOP biased by about 3 or 4 points so this latest result may be significant.

    But, the main result is that the incumbent President Obama is NOT leading Romney by 5 points like he did the presumptive GOP nominee, John McCain in 2008.

    So, despite the lumps that Romney has taken in the past few days over his remarks in England, Mitt Romney is still very much in this race.