Bain Capital Attack Ads Make Inroads for Obama

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Living in Virginia - one of the so-called battleground swing states - the presidential campaign ads are relentless of late and will likely only become more overwhelming.  Candidly, the lies in Mitt Romney's ads tend to make me yell at the television.  Sadly, many who don't follow politics all the time may not fully realize just how disingenuous Romney's ads are in fact.  In contrast, Obama's ad strike me as more honest.  And the one's that have victims of Romney's work at Bain Capital are particularly effective as they depict the victims in front of shuttered factors or discussing their lose of health care benefits and/or pension.  Apparently, I'm not the only one who views the Obama ads as effective and accurate in exposing Romney's utter disregard for the middle class.  A New York Times article looks at their effectiveness in swing states.  Here are some highlights:

Propelled by a torrent of blistering television advertisements, President Obama is successfully invoking Mitt Romney’s career at Bain Capital to raise questions about Mr. Romney’s commitment to the middle class, strategists in both parties say, as the candidates engage in a critical summer duel to set the terms for this fall.
 

Despite doubts among some centrist Democrats about the wisdom of attacking Mr. Romney’s business career, millions of dollars in negative commercials painting him as a ruthless executive who pursued profits at the expense of jobs are starting to make an impact on undecided voters in swing states, according to strategists from both sides. 

The strategists agree that the ads are having an effect but differ on whether Mr. Romney is suffering any substantial damage. 

While the sense of worry and alarm that has hung over the White House for weeks is dissipating, and with his supporters relieved by the Supreme Court decision on Thursday to uphold most of his health care law, Mr. Obama faces new challenges in the period from now to the conventions at the end of the summer. 

People close to the Romney campaign say it could close its June fund-raising books having collected an additional $100 million, possibly more, a tally that would exceed all expectations and further extend the overall Republican financial advantage in the race. 

And Mr. Obama’s aides acknowledged that, whatever they do, they still must contend with a troubled economy, with monthly reminders in the unemployment and job creation reports, the next of which comes out on Friday. 

Mr. Romney’s aides said in interviews that their strategy depends on keeping their candidate close to Mr. Obama in the polls until at least the Republican convention at the end of August. They hope to then begin to pull away with a relentless case that Mr. Obama has not been up to the job of fixing the economy — and that Mr. Romney has the experience and know-how to lead the nation to recovery.

But Mr. Romney’s strategy of avoiding clashes on issues other than the economy and minimizing his risks — he has no public events scheduled until the Fourth of July — is starting to draw criticism even from some fellow Republicans, who are urging him to take more specific stands and set out a more positive agenda.

Mr. Obama, by contrast, has put other big issues in front of the nation on his terms, most notably same-sex marriage and illegal immigration, displaying the advantages of incumbency, energizing crucial voting groups and moving public attention at least temporarily away from jobs. 

But even as they have tried to expand the playing field of issues, Mr. Obama’s aides said they would not let up on their efforts to challenge the core of Mr. Romney’s campaign, his claim to be a better economic manager. 

“We’ve got to make sure people fully appreciate Mitt Romney is not some safe alternative,” said David Plouffe, a senior adviser to the president. 

Mr. Obama’s acute focus on Bain has drawn complaints from Democrats,  .   .  .  . But recent Quinnipiac University polls found slight shifts in Mr. Obama’s favor on the question of who would do a better job handling the economy in Ohio, and that he was roughly even with Mr. Romney on the question in Pennsylvania. 

In the most recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 33 percent of swing state respondents said that hearing or reading about Mr. Romney’s business record had made them view him more negatively, as opposed to 18 percent who said it made them view him more favorably. 

Even with the political terrain newly settled by the Supreme Court’s decision, neither side expects the campaign to move beyond its dogfight status before the party conventions and the debates.

“It’s going to be very close,” Mr. Plouffe said in an interview. “We’re not looking for — and don’t expect — seismic movement.” 

In my view, Romney is a very dangerous alternative and the reality is that but for Republican obstructionism and GOP controlled state governments that have been slashing state employee ranks, the economy would be doing far better.  The GOP has truly been seeking to destroy the economy - with no concern for the families damaged in the process - solely in an effort to harm Obama.  Needless to say, it makes me sick.