Romney Headed For 'Tampa-geddon'?

So the question now is what kind of shape will the Romney campaign be in come August 27th, the date of the Republican Convention in Tampa? If the latest polls are any indication, not so good. An average of the CNN, Fox, and Reuters/Ipsos polls show not only that he is behind four to five points, but that overall he is trending downward. This comes on the heels of his gaffe filled trip to Europe and his unwillingness to release more than two years of tax returns for no suggested reason other than "principle".

Could it be that he is starting to lose the all important undecided voters, those who view economics as being most important? The economy was supposed to be Romney's strongest advantage and the center-post of his message, but instead he rolls out a series of ads about "values", specifically concerning Obama's alleged "war on religion". I don't think the undecided voters are much concerned about the contraception argument, and you've got to wonder who he is targeting. The only people to which these ads would be of any appeal would be the Republican conservative base, a group you would think should already be solidly behind their candidate by this time in August.

The truth is Romney now has to find another way to win. He has backed himself in a dark corner where if he campaigns on his business ability the questions about Bain Capital and more importantly his non-disclosed tax returns slam him in the face. What he is hoping for most is that his current bus tour will be more successful than his European trip and that his already delayed VP pick will distract from some of the more difficult issues dogging him.

If his campaign's poll numbers don't uptick a bit before the convention he'll be in serious trouble. Romney already has the unenviable task of dealing with the sure commotion from the Paulite delegates who will be in Tampa. And if he polls any lower we'll start seeing Republican defectors, particularly House and Senate candidates who will want to distance themselves from their candidate.

August is a long month indeed.........especially for Mitt Romney.