Washington (CNN) - Memo to Mitt Romney: Walmart moms find you smart, but slick, and while many are ready to give up on President Obama, they aren't sure you understand their daily struggles.
It's safe to say Governor Romney already knows this: his pollster once was a lead player in the Walmart mom research project, and is close to the two pollsters leading it now.
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Romney's pollster is Neil Newhouse. One of his partners at the GOP polling firm Public Opinion Strategies, Alex Bratty, now does the Walmart mom research with Democratic pollster Margie Omero.
In a memo based on six recent focus groups, five of them in battleground states, Bratty and Omero describe Walmart moms as frustrated with the tone of the campaign and with both candidates – "overwhelmed by negative ads they cannot trust" and very much interested in the more unfiltered settings offered by the coming conventions and debates.
"They do not feel like either candidate is really connecting with them on the issues that matter most: the economy, education and health care."
What exactly is a Walmart mom? A female voter with children aged 18 or younger at home who shopped at Walmart at least once in the past month. All told, the two pollsters say Walmart moms constitute roughly 15 percent of the electorate.
Romney gets first crack with his convention. And reading through the focus group reports suggests a steep hill. "On the one hand they see his successful business record and say that is the kind of president the country needs right now – that his success is the American Dream" Bratty and Omero wrote. "On the other hand, they worry about how little they know about him."
Common descriptions of Romney from the focus groups: Not personable. Polished. Slick. Out of touch.
The president, however, can skip the hand stands.
Unhappy. Disappointed. Dissatisfied. Broken promises. Overwhelmed. Those were some of the labels attached to the Democratic incumbent during the discussions.
"There is not a lot of confidence that another four years will result in things getting better," is one damning line from the Bratty-Omero memo.
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From CNN Politics
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Wal-Mart moms?
Why don't you just say poor white trash
At 47% approval, far more than Walmart Moms have given up on Obama!! They know all their kids are up the creek if Obama is there for another 4 years racking up massive debt their kids will have to repay. Anybody with more than 10 live brain cells has given up on Obama and his proven record of failure. Four more years of this nightmare? ARE YOU KIDDING?!!!
If Romney's ever been inside a WalMart it was only to pander for votes. He's a spoiled preppy who won't trust Americans to see his tax returns but wants us to trust him with our lives. The folks Bain Capital threw our in the street without a pension trusted Romney... What is he hiding?
Walmart mom? What an insult!
Gary Johnson is our only hope this year but CNN won't tell you that.
People like Romney are the reason you shop at Walmart! Do these people follow what's going on and know that it is Romney's party that blocked the President's agenda? Talk about clueless.
I think those are fair statements.
I'm not a Wal-Mart mom. (Being that I'm a guy)...but I do shop at Wal-Mart. I did vote for Obama. And I'm a bit underwhelmed. However, I don't trust Mitt AT ALL. And both sides need to drop the negative ads and lying.
Look at the little girl in the front row yawning!!!!! Priceless. Even the kids know when Romney is spouting bs. Hahahahahaha
Ok, Walmart Moms, here are some real Romney facts/economics that will make life for you even harder
Romney wants to cut taxes for the wealthy. This is not new, the Republicans did the exact same thing from 2000 to 2008. It gave us the Great recession and tens of millions of people lost their jobs, homes, retirement savings etc.
Romney wants to get rid of regulations that keep the banks honest. This is not new, the Republicans did the exact same thing from 2000 to 2008. It gave us the Great recession and tens of millions of people lost their jobs, homes, retirement savings etc.
Romney wants to gut funding for education that helps the Middle Class. This is not new, the Republicans did the exact same thing from 2000 to 2008. It gave us the Great recession and tens of millions of people lost their jobs, homes, retirement savings etc.
Romney wants to gut funding for infrastructure like roads, bridges which is critical to economic growth. This is not new, the Republicans did the exact same thing from 2000 to 2008. It gave us the Great recession and tens of millions of people lost their jobs, homes, retirement savings etc.
Romney wants to gut funding for research in technology which is critical to our future and a economic power in the world. This is not new, the Republicans did the exact same thing from 2000 to 2008. It gave us the Great recession and tens of millions of people lost their jobs, homes, retirement savings etc.
Romney wants to slash teachers, firefighters, police. This is not new, the Republicans did the exact same thing from 2000 to 2008. It gave us the Great recession and tens of millions of people lost their jobs, homes, retirement savings etc.
Romney wants to get rid of Medicare which is a critical for seniors. This is new and it will decimate those in need of medical care.
Romney wants to dictate to a woman what is best for her. He wants to stuff government down women’s throats and other body parts. The Republican Party believes certain types of rape are legitimate and the victims should have no reprieve if they get pregnant and that government should dictate to the victims what they can do to their bodies. This is certainly a more radical Republican position than the previous Republican Administration.
And the list goes on.
I guess Romney/Ryan think we are all stupid and don’t know the truth and can’t remember the dark days of the great recession of 2007 and 2008 and the years leading up to it.
The choice is clear. Do we want to go back to the exact same policies (Romney/Ryan current policies) that brought America (this great Nation) to its knees or do we want to continue to build on the recovery. Under Romney your income will shrink further and you may not be able to even afford to shop at Walmart. At least you were to shop at Walmart under Obama.
If the Repub. Congress(The Repub. House & 40 Repub. Senators) would at least play ball W/Obama, the WalMart Mom's would start having a little confidence that Government can work to address the many problems we face as a Nation.
Mitch McConnell is prancing around under a Mission Accomplished banner.
Funny you probably know most workers at Walmart make minimum wage only..and the GOP want to repeal the minimum wage law, ...but did you know most workers at Walmart, only get 20 hours a week...and when Walmart hires a new worker that will only get 20 hours a week and has kids, a family,..they give them information on how to sign up for food stamps and other federal low income programs....The rich get rich..the workers barely survive and live on Food Stamps.
That is what Mitt Romney will do to America...give all the tax cuts, and profits to the top 1%..and put the workers in the poor house.....Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want to set the tax on Capital Gains and Dividends to ZERO percent...No taxes for the Rich investors...the rich hedge fund managers..In 2007 just one hedge fund manager made over 3 billion...and the GOP and Romney Ryan ticket want them to pay nothing in taxes..no taxes for our roads, interstate, bridges, our military, our soldiers, or our vets.....
The old people will need it when their health care dollars run out.
"The blind trust is an age old ruse, if you will, which is to
say, you can always tell a blind trust what it can and can not do. You
give a blind trust rules
Romney's campaign is based on the notion that because of what he did at Bain he understands the economy. It's perfectly reasonable to examine what his experience at Bain really taught him. After all, Bain wasn't in the business of creating jobs, it was in the business of making money
The high unemployement is due to people like romney out sourcing that's why middle class Americans are suffering so much.
You gotta love that little girl in the front row with the big yawn........says a lot about what a "dynamic" speaker Mitt is.
That photo is the best yet CNN. That young girl yawning say's it all .
Romney should know by now , you can't BS a Kidd .
i rather have a honest president, than a crooked wanna be
-8.3% unemployment – Over 8% 42 Straight months and the Obama Jobs DEPRESSION continues unabated
At 47% approval, far more than Walmart Moms have given up on Obama!! They know all their kids are up the creek if Obama is there for another 4 years racking up massive debt their kids will have to repay. Anybody with more than 10 live brain cells has given up on Obama and his proven record of failure. Four more years of this nightmare? ARE YOU KIDDING?!!!
*******************
Has Romney ever shopped at Wal-Mart? Somehow, I think not. He does not have a clue about my life or yours. He has no solutions beyond tired slogans that people stopped believing decades ago. Romney's record, such as it is, includes tax raises, cutting services, causing local taxes in MA to skyrocket......all of which left him with an apporval rating below 35% when he left Springfield with his tail between his legs. Nothing in his experience suggests he knows or cares about Wal-Mart moms, unless its another group cutting him a check to deflect from the fact he still has no real idea of what he wants to do with this country after running for the office for almost 7 years.
Why do people feel that we need a "successful businessman" to lead the country? We have had two succesful businessman ascend to the office of POTUS, and both rank among the worst in US history. The most recent being a man named Budh, George W. Bush. The other businessman was named Bush, too. Our most succesful presidents have been men who were had a history of volunteering their time and efforts to help others, not make a profit for themselves.
Hey, John King !
Why not just try to call us all Americans instead of trying to lump us into a group category. Obama has gotten this far because of his creating hate and pitting American against American. Its time for this BS to stop !
It's time to stop tearing this country down and start rebuilding it.
The guy with the camera is sending Wikipedia a picture of a "Liar, Tax Evader, and Criminal for not disclosing his off-shore accounts? for them to use in their definition of a republican. Hahahahahahahaha
@kayla – Obama isn't the honest one!
Romney is clueless and cares less about the poor and middle class! Vote OBAMA and vote the NASTY Do NOTHING TEA PARTY OUT! Let them create their own country away from the U.S.!
@Dave Jaipersaud – LOL
Those WalMart moms better not vote against their best interest. Romney never seen the inside of Walmart. I don't understand what they are no buying. Romney is not for you Walmart moms, and if you think he is keep buying. He not into you !