Day: October 10, 2012

Ah...Delaware, the 41st "most livable" state, according to Gallup. Our median income is a rocking 10th-highest in the United States, and we have the 11th-lowest percentage of families living below the poverty line. But dragging down our stats; a third of us are obese, we have scant access to clean water, smoke at a higher rate than most states and visit the dentist rarely. C'mon people.

For the first time in what seems like months, we have a state flipping sides. A poll out of Colorado gives Romney a slim lead, and so we change the color on the map. This is the nadir of the campaign for Obama supporters, waiting on a ledge for two more Presidential debates and tomorrow's Vice Presidential debate to erase our horrid memories (and the media's) of last week's unpleasantness. The good news is that the Romney debate bounce is already fading, with his best polling days (in terms of samples) being Thursday and Friday last week, and then Obama mounting a comeback on Saturday and Sunday most likely due to the excellent jobs report showing over 200,000 jobs being added in September, August and July.

Nate Cohn: "Over the next few days, more surveys will weigh-in on the size of Romney's post-debate bounce. But it's important to keep an eye on whether the polls are measuring the peak of Romney's bounce, which looks like it was around 4 points before the polls with Sunday interviews pointed toward a smaller one, or whether they're measuring the weekend and later, when there are signs that Romney's bounce began to fade. Resolving the size of Romney's bounce and whether it lasted are two important, but separate questions. We'll need to be careful to track both."

Meanwhile, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll still finds Mitt Romney's favorability rating underwater, though the last debate helped raise his favorables. And though President Obama had a bad debate, he did not damage his favorability either. In fact, he increased it. Romney is now seen favorably by 47% of registered voters overall, unfavorably by 51%; Obama's rating is better, 55% to 44%.

Amy Walter: "The good news for Romney: He's seen a boost in his favorability ratings. The bad news: More still see him unfavorably than favorably. There have only been four presidential candidates in recent history who were underwater in favorability, at least briefly. All lost. John Kerry and Jimmy Carter in September, Walter Mondale, George H.W. Bush in October."

So the roller coaster continues...

Shake that Etch-A-Sketch. Remember all of Mitt Romney's tough talk on abortion during the Republican primary? No?  Then let's review:

ROMNEY: I appointed probably 50 or 60 judges--at the trial court level, mostly, the great majority. These were former prosecutors; 80% of them former prosecutors. We don't have a litmus test for appointing judges--asking them if they're pro-life or not pro-life. These were people going after crimes and the like. I am pro-life. And the Massachusetts Citizens for Life and several other family-oriented groups wrote a letter two weeks ago and said they'd watched my record, that I was an avidly pro-life governor. I am a pro-life governor; I am a pro-life individual. Is there any possibility that I've ever made a mistake in that regard, I didn't see something that I should have seen? Possibly. But you can count on me, as president, to pursue a policy that protects the life of unborn, whether here in this country or overseas. And I'll reverse the policies of this president. ROMNEY: People have had a chance to look at my record and look what I've said. I believe people understand that I'm firmly pro-life. I will support justices who believe in following the Constitution and not legislating from the bench. And I believe in the sanctity of life from the very beginning until the very end. Romney:  "I'm in favor of having the Supreme Court overturn Roe v Wade" Huckabee asked Romney, "Would you have supported the constitutional amendment that would have established the definition of life at conception?" Romney answered, "Absolutely."

Remember that Mitt Romney.  Well, forget about him.