Governor Romney was seen in some camps as almost getting a free ride to the White House as a result of putrid jobless numbers, mixed Real Estate outlook, and a generally poor view of the overall economy this spring.
All that is old news now that President Obama essentially won both the Arizona Immigration Law 1070 and the Affordable care Act rulings by the Supreme Court this past week.
Both rulings are late in the term and come after Romney began a roll; several polls had Romney passing the president and pulling away as recently as middle May.
The Supreme Court released the ruling on it's last day in session, before summer break.
Both the timing of the ruling's this week and the nature of them must have the Romney camp sleeping little this week. The Arizona immigration ruling favors Obama because it was his Justice Department that brought lawsuit against the Southwestern State on four counts - and won three of them.
The heart of the law that still allows Arizona law enforcement officials to ask for immigration papers during a stop for another offense was upheld, but Obama should still hold onto his large lead in the polls among Latino voters. And the huge difference in Latino support was already seen as a major problem for Romney in the fall.
But it was the ACA ruling by a 5-4 measure, with Chief Justice John Roberts casting the dissenting vote and writing the majority opinion that matters so much for the fall election.
One one hand, you can view this as a major win for Obama because his major legislative accomplishment during his first term stands as law, and he can essentially start a victory lap to explain to the public what is in it for them.
And since Romney's whole message thus far in campaigning has been a weak legislative record for Obama during his first term, the ACA ruling leaves little meat on the bone for him to chew on in campaign speeches now.
On the other hand, it is clear that Romney will turn heels and run full stride into a daily message that will center around the "repeal of Obamacare on day one," as he said yesterday following the ruling release, seen here at The Blaze.
And why shouldn't he? Before yesterday's ruling, Rasmussen had voters favoring a repeal of the controversial law by a margin of 54% to 39%.
The squeaky hinge in this election is going to be Obama communication team. If they can convince the American voters that the ACA is good for them, if they can keep hammering the point about how the wealthiest nation on earth shouldn't have a health care system that forces Americans into bankruptcy at an increasing alarming rate, then he'll win.
But, I don't see it happening. The backbone provisions in the bill won't hit until 2014, after the election. Americans won't see the bulk of the best bits and pieces of this law for themselves until it's too late.
I like the law. I think it's good for Americans. I think it provides for a more stable generation for my children.
But I'm not betting the horse and stable on Obama's media team to be able to pull it off. They've continually put the hoof in the mouth for three plus years - a trend that won't break in the fall when the kitchen gets a whole lot hotter.
Romney wins the election by pounding the American people with promises of what they want, a repeal of the ACA. Now, will he actually get that done when he takes office is a whole other tale yet to be told.
As for the Brown vs. Mandel race, I sill see Brown winning, and maybe by an even larger margin.
One thing voters don't like is when the candidates are caught in lies, as Mandel was by Cleveland.com.
By saying things that just aren't true, coupled with media reports about Brown's personal life that center around the Senator's nasty divorce 26 years ago, I see it as a desperate, last ditch effort to smear Brown enough to gain a few points to win.
Brown is too savvy for that and will survive. In fact, if the junk keeps coming out of the Mandel camp the way it has for the last few months, I'll take it as a sign that Mandel truly is a too-young babe for Washington war and that he is in over his head.
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