Obama Strategist Says Romney’s Negative Attacks ‘Backfiring’ - East Idaho News
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Obama Strategist Says Romney’s Negative Attacks ‘Backfiring’

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GETTY P 011712 RomneySCDebate?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1328099194029PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Mitt Romney may have regained momentum and earned an air of electability following his victory in the Florida Republican primary, but a top Obama strategist says the tactics and message Romney displayed won’t fly in a national campaign.

“Team Romney wants voters and the national media to believe its victory reflects its candidate’s positions,” deputy Obama campaign manager Stephanie Cutter wrote in a memo to reporters Wednesday.

“In reality, it is a product of the fact that Romney and his SuperPAC allies carpet-bombed Gingrich by spending five times as much money on Florida’s airwaves, and running more than 60 television ads for every one Gingrich and his allies aired,” she said.

Romney and affiliated outside groups did spend more than $15 million on TV ads, according to Kantar Media’s CMAG, which closely tracks campaign spending.  Most were negative attacks against rival candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum.

The group reported that less than 0.1 percent of political ads that aired in Florida over the past week were positive Romney ads, while more than 68 percent were attack ads against Gingrich.

“It’s difficult for Romney to claim Floridians voted for him rather than against his opponents,” Cutter concluded.

The memo highlights a slew of recent polling data, including the Florida primary exit poll, to highlight that many voters — from independents to mainstream Republicans — have become less enthusiastic about their choice of candidates, including Romney, suggesting the former governor’s strategy may be “backfiring.”

Still, Romney’s victory in Florida provides some evidence that the strategy has done anything but backfire, a potential warning sign for Obama with the general election quickly drawing near — especially because Obama’s approval numbers have been sagging along with the economy.

Sixty-five percent of Florida voters said they’d be satisfied with Romney as the Republican nominee, according to the exit poll of Republican primary goers — a figure in line with national polls that show many believe Romney has the best chance to beat Obama.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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