ROMNEY BACK ON TOP IN RASMUSSEN POLL – We were concerned about an apparent rise in President Obama's poll standing over the last two weeks.  He seemed to be gaining, day by day, against Mitt Romney, in the reliable Rasmussen poll.  Ramussen polls likely voters, the best kind of poll.

But there may be a reversal of fortune.  From Rasmussen this morning:

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Monday shows Mitt Romney attracting 46% of the vote, while President Obama earns 44%. Four percent (4%) prefer some other candidate, and five percent (5%) are undecided.

And Ras is also polling on the Supreme Court's Obamacare decision:

The U.S. Supreme Court declared that President Obama’s health care law is constitutional, but they were unable to make it popular.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 52% of Likely U.S. Voters favor repeal of the health care law, while 39% are opposed. That’s little changed from a week ago. Indeed, support for repeal has barely budged since the law was passed.

COMMENT:  You'd never know that from some of the jubilant coverage of the Court last week.  The people at CNN could be seen rushing to the nearest hospital for their free Obamacare exam, or free birth-control pills.  Even the guys.

The campaign has barely begun.   However, we've learned from past mistakes that what happens over the summer can be critical to a campaign's effectiveness.  Romney must be in position to charge forward two months from now, when the "formal" part of the general-election effort gets underway. 

Rupert Murdoch said over the weekend that he thought Romney needed more professionals on his campaign staff.  Actually, I think his staff has done awfully well.  What he does need is an attractive set of proposals to place before the American people.  He can't simply be against things.

Romney is a smart guy, and he proved it by constant improvement during the primaries.  I'm cautiously optimistic.

July 2, 2012