The man who runs American Crossroads Super PAC on targeting ‘the persuadables’ with messages on welfare, ObamaCare, the economy
To political pros, they are known as “the persuadables.” By Nov. 6, swing voters in a handful of states will decide whether to rehire Barack Obama. Right now, no one’s studying these voters more closely than Steven Law, president of American Crossroads. Mr. Law, who aims to spend $300 million to defeat Mr. Obama and liberalism generally, likes what he sees.
The 52-year-old former Republican Senate aide says that centrist voters are moving away from the president. The sense that President Obama is “a fine person” but lacks the ability to solve the country’s problems “has only widened and deepened with people in the middle.” Undecided voters “are among the people who are the most sour about the economy and how Obama’s doing his job,” Mr. Law adds. Meanwhile, these voters see Mitt Romney as “a guy who fixes things.”
Given that Mr. Obama holds slight leads in several national polls and in key battlegrounds, Mitt Romney seems a long way from closing the sale. But “we feel pretty optimistic,” says Mr. Law. Polls have barely budged in recent months even though “President Obama and his various minions have dumped $100-plus million” of negative ads on Mr. Romney. Meanwhile, “public confidence in Obama’s management of the economy has just cratered.”
Assuming that’s true, how do Republicans translate it into a Romney victory? Voters in presidential elections essentially face two decisions. The first is whether they’re willing to replace the president. Americans seem to be moving toward a “yes” on that one. While Mr. Obama holds razor-thin leads in almost every swing state, his support is below 50% in all of them.
