That NBC/WSJ poll
I noted below also found that 60 percent of voters want McCain to
pick a running mate who is an expert on the economy.
Some think that this strengthens the case for Mitt Romney, but
as I point out in my
article on the main site, his advantages among economic voters
are overstated:
ROMNEY'S BOOSTERS OFTEN make the mistake of
assuming that just because he has a strong business background,
that he will be able to appeal to voters who are concerned about
the economy. But the data doesn't support this view.
Romney was able to turn economic jitters to his advantage in the
Michigan primary (after pledging $20 billion in subsidies for the
auto industry), but he wasn't able to gain much traction on the
issue elsewhere. In Florida, for instance, despite targeted
messaging emphasizing his business credentials, Romney lost to
McCain among voters who considered the economy the most important
issue, 40 percent to 32 percent.
A deeper look at his performance in the primaries shows that
Romney's appeal was stronger among higher-income voters than it was
among the type of working class voters who will determine the
election. Also, Romney consistently did substantially worse among
those who thought the economy was "not good or poor" than he did
among people who thought it was "excellent or good." In an
electoral environment in which Americans are increasingly
pessimistic about the state of the economy, this would be
trouble.
While Romney's strong business background was an asset during
the Republican primaries, it could backfire in the general
election. Democrats will point to Romney's vast fortune to make
their case that Republicans are the party of the rich, and out of
touch with the economic concerns of ordinary Americans. In his 1994
U.S. Senate race against Ted Kennedy, Romney was torpedoed by
television ads featuring workers who said they lost their jobs when
he took over their companies.
topics:
Television, Business, Environment
