Mitt Romney, struggling, makes a new effort to connect

Source: LA Times

As Mitt Romney prepares for his pivotal first debate against President Obama, his campaign is struggling to regain its footing. By recalibrating his message and increasing his interactions with reporters, Romney is trying to reignite his presidential bid at a critical time, with just over a month until election day and early voting underway in many key swing states.

He is still struggling to connect with voters, a challenge that has confronted him since the primaries. And he has often spent more time fundraising than campaigning in battleground states, where recent polling shows Obama gaining ground.

A campaign that once gloated about expanding the electoral map for Republicans is now fiercely fighting to hang on to states that were once considered favorable territory for the GOP nominee, such as North Carolina.

Romney continues to be dogged by the release of a secretly taped video that shows him denigrating nearly half the population, forcing him to play up his empathy. And despite repeated pledges by his campaign to offer specifics, even some supporters say he is too vague about his plans. All this is why political experts say Wednesday's debate is so crucial.


Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-romney-20120930,0,3059579.story

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Seriously? What is this? Romney 8.0? Romney hides out during the week after the RNC convention doing debate prep, he refuses to talk to reporters during his International tour even though they were a captive audience, then he spends large portions of last month doing closed door fundraisers, rather than political rallies, and now with just over a month a way from the election he decides he needs to connect with voters?

WTF? It says something when you decide to answer questions and attend rallies with your constituents as an act of deparation. I shudder to think what he would be like as President. He would make the Bush presidency look transparent and accessible.