Top Line
After weeks of blistering attacks on Mitt Romney's record, the Obama campaign is shifting gears. This week the campaign released two ads featuring President Obama speaking straight to camera with a mostly positive tone, the first of their kind this cycle.
After an initial month of positive advertising in May, Team Obama has spent nearly all of its ad dollars on hard hitting negative messages against Romney for June and July. The campaign thus far has been about destroying Romney's business record. The problem is its unclear that approach is getting them where they want to be heading into the fall. There is little evidence suggesting Romney has been disqualified as an alternative in voters' minds. And there are some hints the attacks may be hurting the essential and carefully cultivated Obama brand. Hence the shifting gears.
Early on, the Obama campaign made the decision that to win this campaign, they had to make this a referendum on Romney. And once you go negative, it's hard to go back.
But can the president strike a balance? Attack with one hand, and deliver positive messages on the other? Check out this week's Top Line for more.