This is likely my last post before the actual general election, so, I want to make this count. I recently heard someone say this is the most partisan election they’ve witnessed in their entire life. I would agree with that. Here’s where we are to date…

The month of September has been kind of quiet… in an eerie sort of way. We’re in the post-nominating-convention afterglow and the activity has been more like actors promoting movies than candidates running for office. I’m going to spare you much discussion of the conventions as I’ve already devoted a full post to it, but, I”m not going to skip discussion of the personal appearance circuit…

Both candidates are in personal appearance mode. Exposure, exposure, exposure. Granted, the political ads are everywhere, but, its the appearances on The Late Show and Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon to which voters should be paying attention.

I say that because, the candidates show their true selves in those casual interviews. When POTUS does an interview on 60 Minutes, it’s all official. They’ve spent a lot of time preparing for those interviews – doing prep on issues and policy. When Mitt Romney is on Live! with Kelly & Michael – it’s completely off-the-cuff.

Yes, they’ve done some prep, but, the expectation is that the interviewer is going to ask questions about the man more than the candidate. Less issues, more personal insight. This is why voters should REALLY be paying attention to those interviews… and speaking of Mitt Romney, we finally found out who he really is during September…

I’ve mentioned before that there is an entire voting block I call, THE MITT ROMNEY HEAR SCRATCHERS. And it’s large. These are the people who are possibly independent voter who are looking for substance, not party affiliations. So, they’re looking for the issues that speak to them, but also, the PERSON that speaks to them. Mitt Romney hasn’t been speaking to anyone, including Republicans… Until he was caught on tape…

We’ve now seen a hidden camera video of Mitt Romney speaking to a conservative interest group where he speaks with true conviction. He clearly outlines the values conservatives and Republicans believe, but, are mostly cautious about saying publicly. But, he said it and he meant it. I believe him. I think most people believe him. FINALLY!

Awesome. We now know who he is and for voters who agree with him, no more head-scratching. But it’s likely we won’t see as much authenticity from him again – not as long as he knows about it. New polls now show that Romney is trailing POTUS in confidence on fixing the economy. Romney’s credentials suggesting he can fix the economy didn’t convince anyone; But, making it clear that he’s less for entitlement programs and more for personal responsibility… Ding, ding, ding! Winner, winner – Chicken dinner…

But, it might be too late. While the argument that the current President hasn’t been as effective as we’d like is valid, believing anything Mitt Romney says – no matter how good it is – is also valid. So, our next test is the debates. Again with the – believing anything Romney says and, GET ON IT POTUS!

I just feel like nothing either of them says is going to change the fact that they are on opposite sides of the spectrum and THAT is where each voter will make their decision. Like the conventions, I think the debates won’t move the needle… Unless there’s a monumental moment – good or bad.

I’m closing this post not making a prediction about who’ll win. The variables are just too great. Voter turnout, a huge moment in the debates… VOTER TURNOUT! But, I will defer to Nate Silver, an author and statistician who said based on his research — RESEARCH — He’s estimating an 80% chance of a win for POTUS.

This month at Communicado, I’ve created a special Election 2012 edition in the spotlight. It’s your last look at some of the most relevant details before you vote on November 6. My next and last election post will be about who won and why. My hope is that I’m being balanced enough so as to not sway you one way or another and informative enough to make you ask more questions and seek more answers.

Carpe Diem…