A Race For The White House That Spares The Change

August 22, 2012 -- ANALYSIS: Once again we have to ask: Is the 2012 election just a lot of sound and the fury signifying nothing?A week after Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick, after volleys of attacks and counterattacks on the issue of Medicare and now, in the midst of a new debate over abortion, the presidential race remains deadlocked.

A new Associated Press/GfK poll shows President Obama at 47 percent and Romney at 46 percent. An NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll has the matchup nearly as close: Obama 48 percent to Romney's 44 percent. And in Gallup tracking polls, Romney stands at 47 percent while Obama comes up with 45 percent.

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The NBC-WSJ poll shows an electorate that is as pessimistic about the economy as they were in the fall of 2008 -- just 36 percent say they think the economy will get better compared to 38 percent who believed that in October of 2008. They continue to disapprove of the job Obama is doing on the economy by a 54 percent to 44 percent margin.

Yet, they aren't convinced that Romney will be much better. Asked if they think Obama will "bring the right kind of change" if re-elected, just 37 percent agreed. But, only 38 percent thought Romney would bring that change.

The convention in Tampa provides Romney the opportunity to make his case. And, while the Todd Akin story reminds us that no candidate can "control" the media narrative, at least Team Romney gets a couple hours every night for a week to try and shape it.

That is, of course, unless that pesky hurricane decides to drop by.