Many of these are only going to be looked back as distractions. This Romney comment is really not going to change any substantial opinions. Actually most people are only paying attention to the things he said about the "47%", and there is a lot of other things he said that predictiably aren't being mentioned mostly because many of the other comments weren't really damaging. There was one instance where he talked negatively about the Federal Reserve now just printing money and how its not good for our economy.
Then we saw the video come out about obama from 1998 about Obama saying "I actually believe in Redistribution at least at a certain level." This really isn't anything new. We know from the 2008 campaign he was talking with "Joe the Plumber" and said, "when you spread the wealth around its good for everybody". I don't think many undecideds are really affected much by any of these videos. All they do is fire up the left base and the right base. What will cause Undecideds to decide is the state of the country. IE the economy, job market, foreign situation, and a few on social issues whether progressive or conservative.
Much of what has been getting ignored is the job market, economy, and foreign affairs. All of which are really not in a good condition. The debates will and should bring those things back into light as long as there are questions involving them, and the candidates talk about them. Many site the polls as evidence that Obama is pulling away, but its really not the case. When you look at the average of all the polls on realclearpolitics you see that in all of the swing states except Wisconsin that Obama is still polling below 50%. That is never a good sign for an incumbent. historically undecideds mostly swing to the challenger. Undecideds are really voters who are not happy with the incumbent president and are "shopping".
So its not like Romney is somehow doomed. he is running a really mediocre campaign, and much of what the media is covering about him appears to be in a negative light while you will notice there is really not much coverage going on about Obama and if there is most of it is not in a negative light. Mostly we see him at a campaign rally with the crowd cheering, or in an interview with "the pimp with the limp" or some other local radio station. The only tough questions he has faced in a long time were at the Univision interview this past week. Some of his answers were a bit shaky, because I think he was taken slightly by surprise on the tough questions about immigration reform, the attack on the consulate, and the poor job market.
The main issues of this election will and should come out through the debates and coverage from the media closer towards the election. Right now all we seem to be getting are stupid videos and sniping back and forth about things that really will not effect undecided voters very much. Its just the way it is right now.
