Good, or bad, for Mitt-men? What does it say about us as an electorate?

A new poll released this week makes me feel both good, and bad, about our society these days.

ROMNEY: Not inspiring our awe



The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press says that a majority of those whom they questioned didn’t have the slightest idea what “Etch-a-Sketch” meant in conjunction with Mitt Romney’s presidential aspirations.

I’M SURE ROMNEY is breathing a sigh of relief!

For while some want to believe that the view he will try to remake himself ideologically come the general election cycle (ie., September and October) from the would-be ideologue he is acting like now will doom his campaign, that poll found 55 percent of people had not heard a word about this controversy (sparked by an aide to Romney who said the candidate would redo his image just like a kid with an Etch-A-Sketch toy).

It could be that the numbskull remark that some people (including Romney challenger Rick Santorum himself) want to blow up into a controversy is just too trivial for “the American people” to pay any attention to.

That would be a plus. That would be a sign that we have a thinking electorate.

THEN AGAIN, THAT would be a big assumption in-and-of itself. It could be a flawed one, particularly based off of other portions of the same poll – which brought up various issues and tries to gauge how much people really care about them.

For it seems one of the things they really don’t care much about is the ongoing presidential election cycle.

OBAMA: Winner by default?



Because 58 percent of the people surveyed said they think the election cycle that officially began with the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary (but which unofficially is more than a year old already) is “too long.”

Even among the Republicans who supposedly are being stirred up and motivated by the fact that their political party has a competitive primary – unlike the Democratic Party where the nomination convention to be held in Charlotte, N.C., will be nothing more than a coronation for Barack, the Second (as in term), 64 percent think the cycle is “too long.”

EVEN WORSE FOR Mitt?

Only 38 percent of people surveyed find it “interesting,” compared to 52 percent who think it “dull.” Even 42 percent of Republicans think the election cycle is “dull,” which is bad because a majority of everybody else (including 56 percent of the political independents who supposedly decide elections) are bored.

Part of it is because we have a short attention-span society. But what does it say about us that we can’t even fake some interest in the process by which our nation picks its new chief executive for the next four years?

Heck, the ongoing saga concerning the death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin is being followed “most closely” by more people than those who want to know about the latest campaign activity.

THAT FIGURE REALLY spikes up among African-American people, where 52 percent of those questioned said Martin was the top story, compared to only 13 percent who think the election is a bigger deal.

Then again, there also were 6 percent of black people and 9 percent of white people who thought the “top story” was the New Orleans Saints and the punishments being received by certain team officials, including coach Sean Payton, for the thuggery on-field that was being disguised as aggressive athletic play.

So what does all this really say?

Romney’s supposed gaffe that would bring down his campaign has been largely ignored, because “the American people” could care less about the campaign cycle in general.

WHICH MAY BE the best news of all for Obama these days – who is having to cope with speculation that the health care reform measure riddled with political compromise is so flawed that the Supreme Court of the United States will strike it down.

McCAIN: Romney makes him look solid



Because if it seems that nobody cares about the election cycle these days, it is because Romney and the other dwarfs are not grabbing the attention of the public.

Which may well mean that the disgust that the ideological conservatives feel for Obama is such a small sentiment that enough people will vote for his re-election come Nov. 6.

And while a “win” may be a win regardless of how it is achieved, it would be such a far cry from the “hope” and “change” of 2008 if an Obama victory this time around came about due to a challenger who was even less awe-inspiring than John McCain was that year.

  -30-