President Obama's Closing Act: An Epic Collapse

From Hugh Hewitt, at Townhall:

The ongoing collapse of President Obama's campaign may lead to some extraordinary stunts during Monday's last debate, but no matter what he tries, it is very unlikely that the president can reverse the enormous momentum behind Mitt Romney's campaign.

(One data point. Congressman John Campbell, a frequent guest on my radio show, polled his district this week. It is Califronia's 45. John McCain carried it by 4.7 points in 2008. Mitt Romney is almost 20 points ahead in this cycle. Campbell reports that this sort of result is showing up across the country.)

The nation is simply finished with a president whose rhetoric has never been matched by his actions, and whose performance has removed Jimmy Carter from the bottom of the rankings of the modern president.

The president of course has his passionate supporters. These are the same people that spent last Tuesdaynight declaring him the winner of his second meeting with Mitt Romney, and Wednesday and Thursday trying to infuse the word "binder" with game-changing significance.

They are the same people who spent Friday denying that "not optimal" was not a big deal.

"Binder" -- big deal. "Not optimal" -- no deal at all. That's the state of the Obama campaign: A nearly Orwellian effort at making some words matter and others disappear while facts are pushed aside It hasn't worked. It won't work.

John Campbell is my congressman. The Irvine area, which is part of the 45th district, along with Newport Beach primarily, isn't hurting for Democrats. I see Obama bumper stickers all the time and my local 7/11 never seems to run out of the Mitt Romney election cups, but the Obama ones are nowhere to be found. Could be something else but it makes you wonder. Maybe I'm in a low rent coffee shop?

I'm not predicting a Romney win at this point, although it's looking more and more likely. A couple of the key battleground states still look competitive for Obama, especially Ohio, which is a must-win state for Romney. But again, it's looking that Obama's collapsed with very little time to recover. And the last debate's on foreign policy, and even if he does well, it keeps the laser focus on the Obama administration's foreign affairs, which aren't doing so well in the polls of late. Deeds on the ground have to turn around a collapse like that, not blustery rhetoric attacking your opponent in debate. Perhaps voters aren't in the mood to hand the foreign policy keys over to this president for a second test drive around the global test-track.

My father-in-law did say he thought Obama's going to lose, so there's another data point to add along with folks like Hugh Hewitt. It's going to be a very exciting next couple of weeks, that's for sure.

PREVIOUSLY: "End of the Obama Regime."