Definitely worth noting that the full quotes with linkage below was reported at Washington Post.By the time Romney effectively wrapped up the Republican nomination, he was supposedly carrying so much baggage that it would take months for him to shed — if he was able to shed it at all.
Democrats paid lip service to the notion that, because of the economy, the election would be close.
Privately, they had such low regard for Romney they didn’t see how he could win. Some Republicans were dubious, too.
As Romney struggled, Obama and his advisers were able to lie back and tend to business. They had a year to raise money, build another grass-roots army, hone a message and test attack ads as they watched Romney get carved up in a lengthy intraparty battle. They never doubted he would be their opponent but thought less of him the longer the GOP fight went on.
At the same time, they started organizing more than a year ago amid news reports that theirs would be the billion-dollar campaign, even though top advisers always dismissed that figure as media hype. They had a candidate who, despite facing stiff economic head winds and missing the magic of 2008, was battle-tested and sure-footed. They entered the general election with the conventional wisdom on their side.
Over the past 10 days, Obama and the Democrats got a taste of what Romney was going through during the winter and early spring. First there was the intra-party angst, fueled by questions about Clinton’s dependability after he seemed to undermine the Obama campaign’s attacks on Bain Capital by saying Romney had a sterling business record.
Then came the employment report that showed the economy had added just 69,000 jobs in May, which renewed concerns among Democrats about how competitive the election might actually be and about whether Obama had any new ideas for fixing things.
Then came another Clinton moment, when he had to walk back a comment saying that the Bush tax cuts, even those for the wealthiest Americans, might have to be extended temporarily because the economy was weak — a comment 180 degrees off from the position of the White House.
Then came the latest evidence that the Democrats were in serious danger of losing the fundraising wars, perhaps by hundreds of millions of dollars, in view of Romney’s success in May and the potential war chests of Republican super PACs raising money through unlimited, and often secret, donations.
Finally, and unexpectedly, the president committed a major gaffe when, in an unscripted moment and trying to defend himself from critics who accused him of blaming Europe for America’s economic problems, he said, “The private sector is doing fine.”
It helped only a little that Obama tried to take back the comment hours later. “It’s absolutely clear the economy is not doing fine,” he told reporters after a meeting with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III.
Romney pounced on Obama’s comment, calling it “an extraordinary miscalculation” and adding, “Is he really that out of touch?”
Wasn’t that the Democrats’ line about Romney?
Ouch.
Adding one more to the mess that has been Obama's campaign since his "official" reelection campaign launch, now an investigation is being launched by the Attorney General in national security secret leaks coming from the White House.
Two points on that front. One, the DOJ isn't appointing an "Outside Special Counsel" and two, those leaks, coincidentally, are only on issues that make Obama look tough on national security.
Leaving Holder to have the DOJ investigate these leaks instead of appointing an outside Special Counsel is worse than the fox guarding the henhouse, that is locking the fox inside the henhouse.
Obama is taking heat for these leaks even by some of the farthest to the left, liberal progressives.
[Update] Oooops, I forgot, BONUS!!!!
Republican Governor Scott Walker's easy defeat of the Democratic candidate whom Obama supported, in the Wisconsin recall election, definitely qualifies as more bad news for Obama this past week.
