In the new (and newly redesigned) issue of TIME, we run a poll graphic that hasn’t been posted on the site yet that caught my eye. It’s drawn from a BBC World Service poll in which people around the globe were asked to rate the influence of other nations. No surprise — as the item says, “the U.S. has fallen sharply in world esteem over the past three years.” But what did have me scratching my head was the handful of countries where the U.S. still has a very positive rating — led by Nigeria, where 72% of the respondents view U.S. influence positively. I have no idea what explains this. Besides the fact that it’s an oil-producing nation — and one of the most corrupt countries in the world — I know very little about Nigeria. Anyone else able to explain what makes America so unusually popular there? (Filipinos and Kenyans also have very positive feelings about the U.S.)
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Why Romney Is Dodging the Press
Joe, the Romney campaign’s control-freakery makes for bad democracy, but I suspect it’s a smart strategy. Consider the way Mitt’s personal approval rating has bounced back over the past several weeks. As the GOP primaries wrapped up, Romney was roughly as unpopular as late-era George W. Bush. Now he’s about even with Barack Obama.
Since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, Romney’s favorable-unfavorable rating has jumped to 50%-41%, his best ever and in the same neighborhood as Obama’s 52%-46% standing.
What changed? Well, for one thing, other Republican rivals are no longer attacking Romney. That helps. But it’s not like he’s had a free ride: the Obama camp has picked up where Rick and Newt left off. An alternate explanation would be that Americans are simply seeing less of Romney, and that makes them like him better.
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Crossroads, Super PACs and the Incumbent Advertising Gap
In a recent piece about the Obama-Romney ad wars, Michael Scherer made the smart point that this election is different from past ones in that the incumbent no longer gets a free hit on his rival during the period immediately following the primary. The reason: super PACs have the cash to cover that gap while the challenger collects enough general election funds to keep pace.
