Many pundits say that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is toast, but Robert Reich, Labor Secretary under President Bill Clinton, begs to differ.
“For the last several days I’ve been deluged with calls from my inside-the-beltway friends telling me Romney’s dead,” the unrepentant liberal writes on
Business Insider. “Hold it. Rumors of Romney’s demise are premature for at least four reasons.”
First, voters will see two more employment reports before Election Day. “If they’re as bad as the last report, showing only 96,000 jobs added in August and the lowest percentage of employed adults since 1981, Romney’s claim the economy is off track becomes more credible, and Obama’s claim that it’s on the mend becomes harder to defend.”
Second, the three debates beginning Oct. 3 offer the GOP candidate an opportunity. “It’s commonly thought Obama will win them handily, but that expectation may be very wrong – and could work against him,” Reich argues. “Romney did well in the Republican primary debates. Obama, by contrast, can come off slow and ponderous.”
Third, Romney has a lot of financial weaponry at his disposal. “Not just the Romney campaign and Romney’s super PACs, but other super PACS aligned with Romney, billionaires spending their own fortunes, and non-profit ‘social welfare’ organizations . . . will dump hundreds of millions,” Reich says. “It’s an easy bet they’ll far outspend Obama and his allies.”
Finally, the GOP-backed voter identification laws, enacted in 11 states so far, will help Romney, though Reich abhors them.
Bottom line: “Don’t for a moment believe Romney’s dead.”
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