Willard Losing His Edge Among Seniors ?

One of the things I haven't been able to understand about this year's campaign for the presidency is why elderly voters have, in poll after poll, preferred Willard Mitt Romney (aka Wall Street Willie) over President Obama -- sometimes by as much as 15-20 poll points. I have even written a couple of posts about my dismay over this. After all, isn't it Romney, Ryan, and the Republicans that want to privatize Social Security and abolish Medicare (replacing it with an inadequate voucher system)?

Fortunately, it is starting to look like senior Americans are waking up to the realities of what Ryan/Romney want to do to the safety net (Medicare & Social Security) that keeps many of them out of poverty. Ryan recently spoke to 5,000 members of AARP, and he was roundly booed when he tried to tell them that repealing Obamacare and going to a voucher system would be better. They knew better, and they made sure (through their boos) that Ryan knew that they knew better.

A couple of polls, taken since the Democratic Convention, are also verifying that seniors are beginning to move toward the president. The Reuters/Ipsos Poll had seniors giving Romney a 20 point lead over the president right before the conventions. That poll now shows Romney with only a 4 point lead among seniors. Reuters says it looks like Romney's lead among seniors is crumbling.

Then there is the Pew Research Center Poll. Here is how they describe the current situation:

Medicare rates as a much more important issue for older voters than younger voters. More than eight-in-ten (83%) voters 65 and older view the issue as very important to their vote, as do 69% of those 50 to 64. 

Older voters who rate Medicare as a very important issue support Obama by a substantial margin. Among all voters 50 and older, Obama and Romney run about even (48% Obama vs. 44% Romney). But voters in this age group who view Medicare as very important support Obama by 54% to 39%. Among the much smaller group that views the issue as less important, Romney leads, 59% to 33%.

Back in 2008, McCain won 53% of the elderly vote. It didn't do him much good. Romney needed to win a much higher percentage to have a chance in the November election. But it now looks like that won't happen. In fact, he might even lose the senior vote to the president.