Vice President Joe Biden will try to suck up some of the GOP’s media airtime by spending two days giving speeches near the GOP’s Tampa convention next week.
He’s flying into Tampa for multiple campaign events on Aug. 27, but then will stay overnight nearby to do more events in Orlando and St. Augustine, according to an Aug. 23 statement from President Barack Obama’s campaign.
The GOP convention runs from Aug. 27 to Aug. 30, when Mitt Romney will be formally nominated and make his prime-time acceptance speech.
That’s also when most voters start to pay attention to the race, giving Romney and his GOP allies a good chance to connect with the late-deciding voters that will likely decide the race.
Five percent of voters are still undecided, and another five percent may change their choice before they cast their votes on Nov. 6, aides to President Barack Obama told reporters Aug. 23.
That’s a small but decisive percentage, because the candidates are running neck-and-neck in most of the swing-states.
For example, Obama leads Romney in Florida by 49 percent to 46 percent, according to a poll released Aug. 23 by Quinnipiac University, The New York Times and CBS News.
In Ohio, however, the president has a six-point advantage, 50 percent to 44 percent, according to a Quinnipiac poll, which was criticized by some GOP supporters for skewing the sample toward Democratic voters.
The undecided voters, and the persuadable voters, will be swayed by their circumstances, their friends’ opinions and the two campaigns’ media efforts.
When in Florida, Biden likely will try to distract media attention from the GOP by saying something controversial and camera-ready, similar to his recent “squealing pigs” and “they will put y’all back in chains” comments.