Good Morning America's Matt Dowd, who is often billed as a down-the-line analyst, again predicted doom for Mitt Romney, agreeing with George Stephanopoulos's question that the presidential race is "breaking for [Barack] Obama." Appearing on Friday's program, Dowd touted, "I think the trajectory of this race has now slowly moved to the President over the last few days, especially how he's handled [Hurricane] Sandy." [See video below. MP3 audio here.]
According to a November 1 Rasmussen national poll, however, the race is deadlocked at 48-48. The political operative, who has worked for Democrats and Republicans, also dismissed Romney's push into Pennsylvania, oddly suggesting it was a "Hail Mary pass for him, because he knows the map has shrunk." Despite a Rasmussen poll showing the former governor up two in Ohio, Dowd deemed it "very difficult" for Romney to win the state.
He added, "But I think it's very, very unlikely that [Romney] wins Pennsylvania and loses Ohio."
During the 2012 election cycle, Dowd has taken some of the burden for biased commentary off of Stephanopoulos. On September 18, he declared Romney's "47 percent" remarks to be a "six" or "seven" on the "Richter scale"
Minutes after the second presidential debate ended, the analyst dismissed conservative complaints over moderator bias: "...That is a sure sign that President Obama won this."
A transcript of the November 2 segment can be found below:
7:14
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Let's turn to Matt Dowd for more on this, our political contributor. And, you know, we've got this jobs report, make much difference?
MATT DOWD: No. I think the perceptions of the economy are already baked in at this point in the game. The last six months of what's happened, the last six months of the economy are baked in the perception. So, I think the jobs report won't have a dramatic effect on this election.
STEPHANOPOULOS: And we're seeing now Mitt Romney going into the state of Pennsylvania, hasn't gone Republican since 1988. His aides say it's a sign of confidence. Democrats say it's desperation.
DOWD: Hail Mary pass for him, because he knows the map has shrunk. He knows that he's having a difficult time winning Ohio. If he doesn't win Ohio, he has to find some another route. But I think it's very, very unlikely that he wins Pennsylvania and loses Ohio.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You think this is breaking for Obama?
DOWD: I think the trajectory of this race has now slowly moved to the President over the last few days, especially how he's handled Sandy. And that perception in a close race, I think it's moved to him. But Mitt Romney has 48 hours, I think, to adjust that. This weekend is huge for Mitt Romney.
