(Week of 4/7/2012) With the departure of Rick Santorum from the field, Mitt Romney has the opportunity to repair his image with Americans and focus on defeating President Barack Obama. One enormous shortcoming for Romney is the perception that he is out of touch and does not care about people.
Obama does not really have that problem: 48% say Obama cares about people like them, 52% say he does not. That’s not a rip-roarin’ populist image, but it certainly surpasses Romney’s scores: 38% say Romney cares about people like them, 63% he does not.
Majorities believe Obama cares about the poor (56%), the middle class (53%) and the wealthy (61%). Compare that to perceptions about whether Romney cares about the poor (35%), the middle class (45%), and then whether Romney cares about the wealthy (85% say he does).
Economist/YouGov poll archives can be found here
Photo source: Press Association
