Memorable Mitt moment may haunt campaign's courtship of young voters

Wesley, in short, presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney's statement - or minced words, as he and his campaign surrogates would insist - about his lack of concern for the poor may well haunt him this coming November.

I already see the Obama campaign pouncing on national television and their onslaught against Romney's anti-poor belief system will only become more furious as the general election campaign approaches. Both men have insisted, directly or implicitly, that they are out of touch with the American worker. But Romney's comment gives ammunition to the president's claim over the governor's.

It is entirely plausible that the campaign for Obama 2.0 will use Romney's slip-heard-round-the-world in negative advertising against his candidacy. (One popular Republican dubiously claims Team Obama ran the most negative campaigns on the airwaves, according to a Washington Post report.) Would such "excerpting" of Romney be justified, and would it resonate with economically dispossessed young voters?

Those are two important questions citizens will have to consider carefully. But I, for one, don't think the poor will be considered taboo or the proverbial political hot potato this cycle. They are not outcasts. As the cost of living has increased across socioeconomic lines, the general population, especially young voters, are likelier to associate with the poor's plight.

Demographic data show that many more millions are hovering just around the poverty line - afraid they could slip into total financial unrest at any moment - than are happily, upward-moving middle-class. And public opinion confirms that many more Americans believe that tax cuts for the wealthy and foreign entanglements have bankrupted the economy more than social welfare for the poor.

Consequently, Romney's declaration that a "safety net" currently protects the most vulnerable Americans could prove destructive if the country's political mood turns any more populist. 

President Obama, on the other hand, positioned himself in the opposite political direction yesterday at the National Prayer Breakfast.

...It’s also about the biblical call to care for the least of these –- for the poor; for those at the margins of our society. To answer the responsibility we’re given in Proverbs to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” And for others, it may reflect the Jewish belief that the highest form of charity is to do our part to help others stand on their own.

As anyone can observe, President Obama could no better exploit on Romney's gaffe, while staying true to his core message.

So, Wes, you previously said the president, coming off his State of the Union address and Ann Arbor (University of Michigan) visit, is doing everything in his power to win back young voters. Does that still ring true?