Pundit Barone Predicts Romney Sweep

Experienced and respected political analyst for the Washington Examiner and co-author of the Almanac of American Politics Michael Barone has a unique and surprising take on the direction this week’s upcoming presidential elections are going to go. Taking what most pollsters would say is a big risk; Barone is suggesting that Romney will win the election by solid showing of almost 100 electoral votes.

“Fundamentals usually prevail in American elections. That’s bad news for Barack Obama. True, Americans want to think well of their presidents and many think it would be bad if Americans were perceived as rejecting the first black president.

But it’s also true that most voters oppose Obama’s major policies and consider unsatisfactory the very sluggish economic recovery — Friday’s jobs report showed an unemployment uptick.
Also, both national and target state polls show that independents, voters who don’t identify themselves as Democrats or Republicans, break for Romney.

That might not matter if Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 39 to 32 percent, as they did in the 2008 exit poll. But just about every indicator suggests that Republicans are more enthusiastic about voting — and about their candidate — than they were in 2008, and Democrats are less so…

Bottom line: Romney 315, Obama 223. That sounds high for Romney. But he could drop Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and still win the election,” says Barone.