New Poll: Romney Leading in Women Voters
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Look, I don't think any one can be surprised, no one expected the gaps in the poll to stay as wide as they were. Obviously as Mitt Romney is now left the carnival of the Republican primary process he's gotten away from a lot of the extreme rhetoric that dominated that particular campaign period. And he's of course the Romney strategy is to try to keep the reference on Barack Obama. Of course, the good news for the president is people are feeling better about the economy. The trajectory is improving but for the Obama campaign now is to make this not a referendum but a choice between both campaigns.</s>PHILLIPS: Cheri?</s>CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: This president has been talking down women for the longest time. In January Romney was ahead of Obama in the polls with recommend, so they started the thing about with claiming there is a GOP war on women, people aren't buying it. Women own small businesses, create more jobs than all of the fortune 50 company began. We don't want him saying we're losers, we're victims, we need government handouts. We want a president with good strong pro business agenda like Mitt Romney, he's going to let us do what we do best which is create jobs, and I think that women in this country just got sick of the negativity of we worked so hard and so long to get as far as we have and we have Obama telling us that well, you know, we can't do anything without a government hand-out. It's just --</s>JACOBUS: -- and American women in this country have caught on.</s>ZIMMERMAN: Quickly, Cheri. Let's remember you said everything about Barack Obama. But didn't begin to discuss what Mitt Romney's record is. His support for the Ryan budget plan, that takes away funding for small business opportunities. Takes away job training. Focuses on --</s>PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what --</s>JACOBUS: -- less regulation, getting government out of the way so we can do what we do best. We don't want all of this, quote, "coverage."</s>PHILLIPS: Let's talk business. Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital is back in the spotlight. Got a pair of new political ads. The Obama camp rolling out this one.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those guys were all rich. They all have more money than they will ever spend. Yet they didn't have the money to take care of the very people that made the money for them.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bain Capital walked away with a lot of money they made off of this plant. We view Mitt Romney as a job destroyer.</s>PHILLIPS: In response to the Romney campaign, rolled this one out.</s>AD NARRATOR: Mitt Romney's private-sector leadership team stepped in.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Building a dream with over 6,000 employees today.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it wasn't for a company like Steel Dynamics, this county wouldn't have a lot.</s>PHILLIPS: All right. Two different ads. Two different angles. Who's got the advantage?</s>JACOBUS: This is Romney. First, when they talk about the plant that was closed in Kansas. That was in 2001. Mitt Romney left in 1999. They really need to be more honest on that. Secondly, Mitt Romney is responsible at Bain for creating 100,000 jobs, making money for people. That's the way this supposed to be, that helps everybody. So I think the Obama ad is disingenuous. He gets a bump until people look at the details then not so much. Still this is Romney's plus for Romney.</s>PHILLIPS: Robert?</s>ZIMMERMAN: You know, there are enough people from both parties just making talking points on all of the networks, let's understand what these ads are about. It's an effort by the Obama --</s>JACOBUS: I don't have talking points, Robert, by the way.</s>ZIMMERMAN: It's an effort to try to define the Romney record before the super PAC period where the specialist money lines up trying to define Barack Obama. I think what's most important if you look at these ads is to focus on the fact that the best define how to make America competitive in the world, provide security at home is the person that's going to win the election and mobilize people focusing on the economy. And by the way, sherry, it would be helpful if Mitt Romney said at least twine speeches the same number of jobs he created at Bain Capital. He changes the number.</s>JACOBUS: The bottom line is this ad on the part of Obama is a lie because Mitt Romney was not at that company, they are disingenuous. People understand that. We've caught this president in this campaign in some --</s>JACOBUS: -- a couple of times.</s>PHILLIPS: Cheri, Robert, you two make me nervous.</s>ZIMMERMAN: You never make us nervous.</s>PHILLIPS: I try not to. We'll be back.