How’s that Campaign going there Bob Dole er, I mean Mitt Romney?

The Romney campaign truly feels like they really have a shot at the White House, and so they should.  There are still 96 days before the elections and still a month before the conventions.  Despite the week their guy has had, they can turn things around, right?  Right?  Maybe.  The problem here is that the Obama campaign has successfully executed the first lesson out of the ‘Campaign 101’ textbook – define your opponent before they define you and the way that Romney has been defined does him no favors.

The GOP has out-raised and out spent the Obama campaign by a large margin.  So why does it feel like Mitt is on the run, when he should clearly be sitting comfortable?  Simply because the Democrats got out ahead of him.  They painted him as an elitist rich guy-son of another rich guy that has no idea how the common person lives.  Romney has done himself no favors in trying to get out from under this image.  As a matter of fact, his tax proposal, the one where he plans to steal from the poor to give to the rich like an anti-Robin Hood, further underscores how out of touch he’s perceived to be.  Throw in his
disastrous overseas trip and an onslaught of campaign adds against him
in swing states and the guy is done.    In key states like Ohio, Florida and Michigan, Obama is polling at least 5 to 12 points higher than Romney and unless the GOP camp does something to ebb the tide or change their guys image, that’s the way it’ll stay.

Back in 1996 James Carville ran the Clinton campaign in much the same way the Obama campaign is currently bring run; hit early and often and don’t relent.  Paint a picture of your opponent that sticks and run with it.  Clinton, with less money came out early painting Dole as a far-right extremist, a politician that was one with then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.  Clinton created an image of Dole as a cold, right-wing cutthroat Republican that will take away your social programs and Social Security.  It stuck.  Clinton won.  Handedly.

Romney can overcome his image but he’s got to come back down to Earth and realize how he’s being perceived.  Based on his remarks in Israel and in the UK earlier this week, based on his wishing his wife’s Dressage horse well in the Olympics, and based on wanting to enact policies that make life more difficult for the average American however, I’m not sure he’ll be able to.