Why Isn't Romney Ahead by 50 Points?

The common question these days asked by incredulous conservatives is, with the dismal Obama record, why isn't Romney way ahead in the polls?

I've been wondering that myself, and have been trying to find out.  Hardly a pollster, I can only draw conclusions by listening to Democrats.  So here are some of the reasons I'm picking up:

War Weariness: Some folks are still hung over from the Iraq war, and can't wait for Obama to pull out of Afghanistan.  They see no point in sending our children overseas to be killed in some God-forsaken desert.  Many of them think the Iraq war was initiated only for the benefit of Bush's friends in the Oil industry. And Romney will immediately go to war with Iran if elected.

Monthly Checks: Many seniors have succumbed to the endless drumbeat of the Obama campaign and now (falsely) believe they will lose their Medicare and Social Security if Republicans regain power.  Welfare and Unemployment recipients believe their checks will stop after Republicans regain power.

Union Busting: Union members see Republicans as union busters.  They have their evidence from what happened in Wisconsin and Indiana.  Wisconsin cut back on bargaining priviledges for public unions, while Indiana became a Right to Work state.

Healthcare: Something I find rather shocking is that many Democrats still support Obamacare.  They've convinced themselves that the law was critical to providing healthcare to those who can't afford it.  They believe that without Obamacare, all those millions of uninsured people will die because doctors and hospitals will turn them away when they're sick or injured.

I suppose if I believed all those things I'd be a Democrat too.  I don't know everything, but think at least partially the reason I don't share those beliefs is because I try every day to understand each issue completely and draw my own conclusions.

Rather than voting for the guy who seems to guarantee no war under any circumstances, I think the primary role of the Federal government is to protect us from all enemies, foreign or domestic.  So if Iran builds nukes and points them at Israel, I think we have to protect Israel from annihilation, even if it costs us another middle east war.

Retirees shouldn't and won't lose their benefits under Romney, and the Obama campaign is pushing a false message.  Rather than taking away the monthly checks from the other poor and unemployed, Republicans want to stimulate the private economy so it hires those folks and returns them to self-sufficiency.  To the degree that some of those folks have become dependent on those monthly checks and don't want to rejoin the productive class, we can only restore the Welfare-to-Work policies that nudge them back into the workforce.

Union Busting is definitely a Republican priority, so I don't have much that would refute the union members' belief that Republicans would happily bust unions.  Except in Wisconsin, they only busted public employee unions, which I believe deserve to be busted because of the corruption that's resulted in their rise to power.  I believe workers have the right to band together to form a union for the purpose of negotiating better pay and benefits for themselves, but the mob influences and abuse of union members so rampant in today's big unions is a travesty.  I'm fine with Right-to-Work, because I think forcing people to belong to a union as a prerequisite to making a living for their families is un-American.

Healthcare needs reform, but not the Obamacare Federal kind of reform that will certainly make it harder for all of us to get healthcare and dictate what care we're permitted.  The law is a horrible loss of freedom, and is interfering with our constitutional freedoms of religion and association.  By picking the insurance companies that can participate, then dictating to them what they must cover and at what premiums, there is no longer a free market in healthcare.  I believe the opposite of Democrats, that if Obamacare is allowed to stand, millions will find the treatments they need delayed or denied by the Federal government.

I'm also hearing folks who say they won't vote for Romney because he's a Mormon.  What puzzles me is how they'd answer the question, "But you'll vote for Obama, whose religion can't be determined?"  I've become convinced that Obama's an atheist - he may be sympathetic to Muslims, but his policies are those of an unbeliever.

I only wish those Democrats would do a bit of homework and at least learn the facts behind what Obama has done and is doing in office.  The truth is the best healer for toxic beliefs.