On The Last Word, we've spent countless hours talking about Mitt Romney's problem connecting with GOP voters: he's not conservative enough, he provided the blueprint for so-called Obamacare that they want to repeal, he continually blurts out awkward lines like, "I like being able to fire people and "I'm not concerned about the very poor." As of yet, he hasn't been able to get likely voters fired up about his candidacy.
Rick Santorum tried to re-emphasize his main opponent's weaknesses again on the campaign trail. Today, he joked, "One of my opponents recently said, that it would take an act of god for me to win this primary — I agree with him."The conservative poster boy has reason to worry about his own fate with Republican voters. According to a new Pew Research Center poll, 20% of Republicans who currently support Romney, say that if Rick Santorum wins the nomination, they will likely switch sides and support Obama. Ouch.
In general election match-ups, President Obama beats both GOP frontrunners: Obama leads Romney by 12 points (54% to 42%) and Santorum by 18 points (57% to 39%).