The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM) released the ninth installment of its weekly Horse Race poll, which found that President Obama's campaign bested Gov. Romney's campaign for the fourth week in a row.
Full survey results for the week ending Sunday, Sept. 30, are as follows:
Rate the prior week's performance (1- Very Ineffective, 5 - Very Effective)
Mitt Romney's PERSONAL PERFORMANCE as a Presidential candidate 2.70
Barack Obama's PERSONAL PERFORMANCE as a Presidential candidate3.09
Mitt Romney's presidential CAMPAIGN OPERATION 2.67
Barack Obama's presidential CAMPAIGN OPERATION 3.51
Which presidential campaign "won" the previous week?
Romney Campaign19 percent
Obama Campaign56 percent
Neither 25 percent
Both 00 percent
Don't know 00 percent
What was the pivotal moment of the campaign in the previous week?
Select Comments
Democrat Insider: "The media narrative that Obama will win is growing. How can the Romney campaign gain traction when the narrative demoralizes his supporters and depresses his fundraising? Americans love a winner and Romney doesn't look good right now."
Republican Insider: "Romney's operation is failing and it is not gaining any momentum."
Democrat Insider: "The 'pivotal moment' of the previous week was the fact that Romney was still unable to change the conversation, as the swing states are moving toward Obama. As Mike Allen says, it seems like Groundhog Day as the headlines continue referring to Romney's latest attempt to connect with voters."
Republican Insider: "There wasn't really a 'pivotal moment' this week -- it seemed more about preserving the narratives of both sides in advance of the debate. If there was one, it was the Obama administration's continued dissembling on what they knew about the Benghazi attack and when they knew it."
Non-Affiliated Insider: "Amid lack of other news, [Romney's] 47 percent remark keeps resonating in the media."
What advice would you give either of the presidential campaign's based on the performance of last week (please indicate either Obama or Romney at the beginning of your answer)?
Select Comments
Democrat Insider: OBAMA: "Don't allow Romney to win the debate by virtue of a couple 'wow' or 'zinger' moments. The media is itching for a comeback story, so neutralizing Romney's attacks in the debate this week is paramount."
Republican Insider: ROMNEY: "Rightly or wrongly, Republicans are freaking out over the polling numbers showing you behind. These polls are likely accurate, but you need to do something to energize the base so they don't become despondent."
Democrat Insider: OBAMA: "Avoid any gaffes at the debate and pray the jobs numbers on Friday show some sign of life."
Republican Insider: ROMNEY: "Go after Obama in the debates about the Benghazi attack and the administration's response, its snubbing of Israel, and the fallout from Univision's reporting into Fast and Furious. Take advantage of what could be a disastrous week for the Obama campaign."
Independent Insider: OBAMA: "Continue to draw a contrast in the upcoming debate by showing you are the serious candidate, and that Romney is not ready."
Non-Affiliated Insider: ROMNEY: "Romney needs to stop isolating large sects of the voting population. While its understood no candidate can win every vote they should not publicly announce that portions of the population do not matter to him."
The GSPM Horse Race is an aggregated, weekly measure of the opinions of graduate students, alumni, full-time faculty and adjunct professors at GSPM. The results are not intended to be representative of any larger population. The responses have been weighted to ensure that they are balanced politically, by equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. The comments provided are from survey participants. The survey results are released weekly and are available on the GSPM website.