Weigel

Otherization, Continued

Belatedly we notice that Greg Sargent’s been patiently explaining why Obama’s otherization of Romney stings so damn much.

Gallup notes that more think middle income Americans will be better off in four years if Obama is reelected than if Romney becomes president, 53-43. All of this suggests the 47 percent remarks — which are airing in a brutal Obama ad in the swing states — continue to take their toll on Romney.

“The thing that people are always inclined to believe about him is that his economic policies will help the wealthy get richer,” Geoff Garin, the pollster for the Obama-allied Priorities USA, told me the other day. “The 47 percent comment falls much more in the category of confirmation rather than revelation.”

Over in Politico, former Rep. Tom Perriello goes for the same point. “Rural, white men, they don’t like Romney,” he said. “That’s not a demographic shift, that’s as old school Virginia as they get.” You read this, and you think of the way Republicans talk about Barack Obama’s various associations. Dinesh D’Souza takes it for granted that Obama is a socialist who makes decisions that’ll weaken America, and looks at his biography to explain this. Obama, Priorities USA et al give voters Mitt Romney’s biography, and expect voters to take for granted that he’ll redistribute their wealth to the rich. They never convinced enough voters than Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush was doing this. Finally, they win a “character” battle.