SENIORS LOVE RYAN: WAPO/ABC POLL KILLS DEM NARRATIVE

Ten days after the selection of Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney’s national and swing state poll numbers have all trended up. Yep, thanks to a near-flawless VP roll-out, the Romney-Ryan ticket has not only made up the ground Romney lost after six very tough weeks on defense, but in the crucial swing states, Team Romney is in the best shape they’ve ever been in. Therefore…

The media, obviously, is worried — especially due to the Romney-Ryan decision to go on offense over Medicare — a tactical move that has been very successful in calling attention to a fact the media would prefer not to report: That Obama raids nearly three-quarters of a TRILLION dollars from Medicare to pay for the forever-unpopular ObamaCare.

So the media-march has been on to declare the Ryan pick something of a flop and to downplay the energizing effect the Congressman from Wisconsin has had on the GOP base and the electorate in general (for example, photos of the massive crowds the Romney-Ryan ticket draws can only be found in New Media). The Obama campaign and its media minions have also sought to terrify seniors into believing Ryan is some sort of Medicare Murderer, eager to toss old people out in the cold to pay for the one-percents’ tax cuts.

Fortunately, old doesn’t equal dumb: [emphasis added]

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows 41 percent of Americans view the new GOP vice presidential nominee favorably, while 37 percent rate him unfavorably — slightly improved from last week’s polling.

Among seniors, though, the numbers are even better for Ryan: 50 percent favorable and 35 percent unfavorable. Fully one-third of seniors say they have a strongly favorable view of the Wisconsin congressman, while one-quarter have a strongly unfavorable view.

The numbers suggest Democrats’ attempts to turn Ryan’s Medicare proposal against the GOP haven’t stuck yet among the most pivotal group: seniors. If a Medicare attack was working, after all, seniors would likely be the first group to start deserting Ryan. …

Democrats initially hailed Ryan’s selection as a game-changer in senior-heavy districts and states like Florida, and they’ve been pushing hard the message that it would “end Medicare as we know it” and could lead to an additional $6,000 in out-of-pocket costs for seniors (without specifying that it’s future seniors, of course).

In other words, despite a non-stop demonizing campaign, Ryan is four-points above water overall and doing remarkably well with seniors.

First impressions of your VP pick are everything and from the looks of it, Team Romney’s managing of Ryan and Ryan’s own impressive qualities have passed a crucial first test.

 

Follow  John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC