Walter Shapiro went to Ohio to explore his theory that Obama might lose because of a bad economy. What he discovered was something completely different.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – There are only two plausible explanations for what is going on this week in this swing state central to virtually all Mitt Romney’s victory strategies.
Either many top Ohio Republicans are in the grips of the worst panic attack since an Orson Welles 1938 radio drama convinced thousands that the earth was under attack by Martians. Or more likely, judging from the comments of these GOP insiders, Romney’s hopes of carrying Ohio are fast dwindling to something like the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot.
Shapiro discovered that no one likes Mitt Romney. One insider said, “Romney is a guy who is used to talking to the board of directors instead of the shareholders or the employees.” It seems to be the consensus.
“The Obama people have convinced Ohio voters of two things,” says Curt Steiner, a well-connected Republican public relations strategist. “That Mitt Romney doesn’t believe anything. And what he does believe is all anti-middle class.”
I’d argue that Romney has done plenty of the convincing, too. It seems like he’s mainly been campaigning against himself. It seems like Ann Romney is campaigning against him, too, saying that his biggest challenge in office would be maintaining his “mental well-being.” I mean, you know, no one knows Mitt better than Ann. If your own wife has doubts that you are tough enough to handle the job, what is left to talk about?
Just so you are clear what this all means, if Romney loses Ohio, he can win Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, and Nevada, and still lose the Electoral College 270-268. To win, he would have to win all those states and either New Hampshire or New Mexico, too.
What I am saying is that Romney’s goose is cooked.
