Scott Rasmussen provides some insight about the size of Obama's base, here:
"Economic concerns dominate the voters’ agenda, and here the numbers for the president are more troubling.
"Some 49 percent of the voters trust Romney more than Obama when it comes to the economy. Just 39 percent trust Obama more.
"Middle-income voters are especially likely to have more confidence in Romney. Obama does best among those who earn less than $20,000 a year and those who earn more than $100,000 annually. Especially troubling for the White House is the fact that 20 percent of Democrats trust Romney more than Obama on this core issue.
"On other issues, however, Romney and Obama are essentially even. This includes health care, taxes, national security and energy."
The under $20K and over $100K wage earners favoring Obama numbered 71 million in 2010, according to Social Security. That leaves 79 million in the in-between category which tends to favor Romney.
Hence Romney's (inelegant) pitch to the middle class during the early primary season:
“I’m in this race because I care about Americans,” Romney told CNN’s Soledad O’Brien this morning after his resounding victory in Florida on Tuesday. “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.”
“I’m not concerned about the very rich, they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling and I’ll continue to take that message across the nation.”
This statement notwithstanding, it's going to be a 52-48 type of fight, with the economy center stage right now.
