CHUCK TODD'S CREW DOESN'T UNDERSTAND MATTERS OF THE WINGNUT HEART

This, from MSNBC's First Read, strikes me as way off the mark:

This morning, the Romney campaign is up with a new TV ad in South Carolina that defends his Bain record and criticizes his GOP rivals for attacking it. It's the first defensive ad of the campaign from Team Romney "Mitt Romney helped create and ran a company that invested in struggling businesses, started new ones, and rebuilt old ones, creating thousands of jobs. Those are the facts," the narrator states in the ad. "We expected the Obama administration to put free markets on trial, but as the Wall Street Journal said, 'Mr. Romney's GOP opponents are embarrassing themselves by taking the Obama line.'" As we noted yesterday, Romney is stuck in a tough place. Emotionally, the sad stories of the laid-off workers will strike a chord; the positive stories of Staples and Sports Authority will help blunt a little -- but logical or "head' defenses are usually never as effective in campaigns when attacks pull at the heart.

(Emphasis added.)

Um, folks? These are GOP voters we're talking about. This ad attacks Obama. An attack on Obama is precisely what "pull[s] at the heart" for these voters. They hate Obama more than they value their own economic security. The only thing wrong with the ad is that it wastes half its 30-second running time not attacking Obama and linking Romney's critics to him. Look, I know Romney has to get positive Bain spin out there, but he really needs to get that done so he can get back to what really works for him: attacking Obama. If he's smart, he'll produce an ad that consists of nothing but descriptions of his Bain critics as Obama clones. It'll work.