As Mitt Romney heads into the general election branding himself as Mr. Fix It, Democrats appear to be testing out a new counter-punching caricature: Mitt the Incompetent.
The first shot was fired by DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz on Twitter shortly after after Romney finished his pivotal New Hampshire speech, during which he urged beleaguered Americans to "hold on a little longer."
Wasserman-Schultz's responded by pointing to Romney's gubernatorial record:
Then, this afternoon, the Obama campaign began pushing the message full-force on Twitter — poking holes in his problem-solving, casting him as a do-nothing governor, and even implying that his fiscal record was left-of-center.
This isn't the first time the Obama camp has taken aim at Romney's governorship, of course. But the renewed focus could undercut the main attack line the Obama campaign has been using in recent weeks — that Romney's "severe conservatism" is radical and scary.
By drawing voters' attention to Romney's decidedly moderate record in Massachusetts, Democrats may find fodder to slam Romney as an ineffectual do-nothing. But it will likely come at the expense of casting him as a right-wing crusader.
The caricature they ultimately settle on will betray with of Romney's arguments they find more threatening.