The 47% Tape Isn't a Gaffe, Cont.

The polling is now showing what we already knew:

The latest WSJ/NBC poll read respondents his comments and found 45 percent felt more negatively towards Romney afterwards versus only 23 percent who felt more positive about him. Even worse, the 12 percent slice of voters NBC defines as "up for grabs" had the strongest reaction. Just 10 percent approved of the remarks versus a whopping 49 percent who said the comments diminished their opinion of Romney.

It's worth noting that the same people who thought Obama speaking blackityblack to black people was a "bombshell" are the same ones who think insulting half the country is a "golden opportunity."

Here's something else interesting:

At least as discouraging, for Republicans, however, is that Romney's favorite Obama quote -- "You didn't build that" -- isn't even a net drag for the president. After hearing his comments, voters reacted positively by a 36-32 margin overall, and independents and "up for grabs" voters actually approved of them by slightly higher margins.

I think there's a lot to be said about Romney as a bad candidate, but I am not convinced that anyone in the Republican field would have done any better.