Obama Finds the Sweet Spot

It’s already clear: Barack Obama will be re-elected. This prediction is based on several indisputable indicators that will be influenced neither by the global economy nor by the Republicans.

The situation: If the economy is booming and jobs are created, Obama will be re-elected. If that’s not the case, he can pack his bags and move back to Chicago. That’s according to the experts, especially my colleague Olivia Schoeller. As a U.S. correspondent for many years, she’s often seen the wisdom of that rule.

But that was before the “cookie question” and the survey about long flights. To be more exact, the problem is that only 31 percent of Americans surveyed would want to sit next to Romney on a long flight. That question is the American version of the German question, “Who would you rather have a beer with?” Despite his business acumen and wealth, and assuring those questioned that they would be traveling in first class seats, 57 percent expressed a preference for a seat next to Obama.

Romney’s popularity numbers are still abysmal. Despite the pollsters’ predictions, they are not improving as voters get to know him better. In fact, the exact opposite is true, as a Bloomberg survey recently showed.

Why Obama is so loved, despite doubts about his policies and his solutions to the economic crisis, is best explained when he appears at a Boy Scout convention or he’s the target of the Kiss Cam at a National Basketball Association championship game. He’s just a great kisser, plus he knows how to pick the right Girl Scout cookie (i.e., Thin Mints, the most popular flavor).

Romney would probably have opted for one like “Golden Yangles” — one they no longer even sell…