We are now forty days out from the election. It is a good thing for a challenger to be in a dead heat at this point because the undecideds and leaners historically break for the challenger by at least 2-1 margin in final days. It is a very bad thing for the incumbent to be in a dead heat at this juncture. If the incumbent is not comfortably ahead at this point, then he hasn't made his case with the electorate.
Even better, Romney's campaign has not yet unleashed the full force of their campaign. They have evidently made the strategic decision to focus their efforts on the final weeks. Many of us are questioning that but I can only assume that Romney has some smart people on his staff who know what they are doing.
Many of us are also bemoaning the fact that we have a non-charismatic candidate who comes across as overly polite and genteel. However, those who remember the 1988 campaign will remember we had the same type of candidate back then but in the final weeks of the campaign, Dukakis was hit hard with the tank ads, the Willie Horton stuff, etc., and was beaten in a 40-state landslide. All through this, George HW Bush kept out of the fray, it was his attack dogs like Lee Atwater who did all the dirty work for him.
Hopefully Romney has some people like that waiting to be unleashed. We are going to need them.
“Even better, Romney’s campaign has not yet unleashed the full force of their campaign. They have evidently made the strategic decision to focus their efforts on the final weeks. Many of us are questioning that but I can only assume that Romney has some smart people on his staff who know what they are doing”
Yep.
The General George McClellan strategy. Works every time!