Romney Leading the Polls

Less than two weeks ago, Ohio seemed to be in the hands of Obama. The arguments to support that idea were strong. Obama avoided the closing of the automotive companies and, in September, aired more than 1,100 TV commercials showing his achievements. Faced with this situation, Romney had expressed opposition to federal support for the automotive industry and the Republicans hardly appeared on TV. Therefore, it is not surprising that Democrats thought Obama would win Ohio’s 18 electoral votes, which are essential to the final outcome of the election. In fact, at Republican headquarters, serious doubts have emerged over the possibility of Romney’s victory, if Ohio is not on his side. Like so many other issues, that picture has been drastically altered after Romney’s victory in the first debate.

Recently, the Pew Research Center has published data indicating a strong Republican advance. For example, in September only 42 percent of respondents viewed Romney favorably while 60 percent had that view of Obama. Now the proportion is 51 percent for Obama and 48 percent for Romney. The Republican has also advanced among those under 50 years old. The number of those who viewed the Republican candidate positively went from 43 to 51 percent, ahead of the president. Even women are now divided, giving a 47 percent preference for each candidate. Moving from an 18-point lead to a draw is certainly not good news for Obama. In fact, the Republican candidate has advanced on all fronts except in the area of black voters.

With these background data, during a period of five days, which began yesterday, Romney and his running mate Ryan will travel through Ohio, devoting the rest of the campaign to winning Iowa, Virginia and Florida. As a kind of preparatory artillery, television is broadcasting an ad where Romney states categorically: “Ohio families cannot afford another four years like the last four.”

The message sounds good, but let’s not forget that Ohio has a lower unemployment rate than the national average and that it was possible, due in no small measure, to Obama’s actions. This is the reason why the Republican candidate sees himself forced to clearly explain a plan to “return the jobs” to the government, and he is doing it. The first step — which was already announced on Monday — is that on Romney’s first day in office, he will approve the construction of a pipeline that will go from Canada, through the entire U.S., to Texas. Such a project would not only mean the creation of thousands of new jobs but, in addition, it would limit the nation’s dependence on foreign energy sources. This project would be part of a huge national energy independence plan that would be implemented in eight years.

Meanwhile, Ryan pointed out that Obama has not only been an enemy of the pipeline — he tried to make it shorter, from Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast — but has also promoted regulations that cost more than a few jobs to the coal industry in Southeast Ohio and to the automotive industry in the north. Contrary to Democratic propaganda, Obama’s regulations have cost jobs in Ohio. Ryan concluded his message with a categorical statement on Obama policy: “It doesn’t create more jobs, it does not create more prosperity. We’ve got to get off the path of copying European policies.” Fortunately, this time Spain did not stand out.