Can Mitt Romney sucessfully rehabilitate his image at this point?

[Brittain33]

I'm inclined to agree. Will Romney be able to rehabilitate his own image? Probably not. But will he be able to reframe Obama's? I bet he will. Romney may be unlikeable, but Obama is a bad president. Mitt can take advantage of that.

I'm inclined to agree. Will Kerry be able to rehabilitate his own image? Probably not. But will he be able to reframe Bush's? I bet he will. Kerry may be unlikeable, but Bush is a bad president. John can take advantage of that.

... it's all just a little bit of history repeating...

Yup. Romney has some bumps and bright moments ahead of him, but he'll always be one gaffe away from reminding everyone what they already think of him.

[Brittain33]

But I honestly believe that for every vote Obama gains for giving a fluffy speech, he also loses one. I can't watch an Obama speech without cringing, because I know it's just all bullsh**t. Independents see that. Republicans certainly do.

I wouldn't assume that about Independents...

Remember Bill Clinton and George W. Bush having this effect? They had the same effect on the other sides. Clinton in particular drove Republicans crazy because he was so extraordinarily charismatic and yet could obviously flip it on and off like a switch. George W. Bush's "jes folks" demeanor turned off Dems. But Clinton in particular won over a majority of voters and Bush, well, you could say he failed to alienate enough independents as he did Dems to give Kerry an opening.