Last night in Colorado a focus group conducted by a veteran Democratic pollster got ugly for Obama. The group, made up of twelve undecided voters, expressed their decidedly sour view of President Obama, which National Journal summed up in saying "the prevailing sentiment was that the president was a slick salesman, but his words didn't match his actions."
Ten of the twelve participants voted for Obama in 2008, but only three said they leaned toward supporting him this time around. Reading some of the reactions to Obama you would think you were reading a right wing talk radio transcript. Nope, that's just the "prevailing sentiment" these days according to a publication not known for its conservative tendencies.
Reports National Journal:
Listening to the feedback from the group, it was striking how many of them have grown disillusioned from their own expectations set by Obama's soaring rhetoric from 2008, and the less-inspiring reality that transpired.
After being shown footage of a campaign speech by Obama, the prevailing sentiment was that the president was a slick salesman, but his words didn't match his actions.
"I got duped. I fell under his spell. What he's done with the car industry is the only real success," said Patrick Allen, a 27-year-old health care consultant, who voted for Obama in 2008. "I feel like I was somewhat lied to."
Just brutal.
The most tasty part of this focus group treat is the finding that Obama's personal likability is going to mean all of jack and squat when it comes to peoples’ votes:
Almost unanimously, the participants said they'd prefer to hang out with Obama over Romney, but no one said that would shape their vote in November. It's a sign that even if Obama holds a significant edge on personal likability, it's unlikely to translate into many votes if they view his job performance unfavorably.
We guess stiff and smart is more appealing to voters than cool and clueless.