Obama Going Negative?

National Journal: “Last night, veteran Democratic pollster Peter Hart conducted a focus group featuring 12 undecided, ticket-splitting voters in Colorado… He’s lost significant ground among these swing voters: Ten of the participants voted for Obama in 2008; only three of them said they leaned towards re-electing him in 2012. In an initial survey taking leaners into account, Mitt Romney led Obama 5-3, with four completely undecided.”

“Listening to the feedback from the group, it was striking how many of them have grown disillusioned from their own expectations set by Obama’s soaring rhetoric from 2008, and the less-inspiring reality that transpired… Most believed the economy was slowly improving, but not at a fast enough pace for them to justify supporting him again… Almost unanimously, the participants said they’d prefer to hang out with Obama over Romney, but no one said that would shape their vote in November. It’s a sign that even if Obama holds a significant edge on personal likability, it’s unlikely to translate into many votes if they view his job performance unfavorably.”

“The bottom line: The reactions from the focus group explain why Obama is going hard-negative against Romney — it may be the campaign’s only way to win. Most of the participants sounded dissatisfied with president and were ready to make a change, but didn’t know much about the challenger, either.”