Michael Medved: Plenty of confidence at GOP convention

Delegates from Texas pray during an abbreviated session of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Monday. (AP image)

There’s plenty of confidence coming out of Tampa and the Republican National Convention Tuesday, according to our colleague Michael Medved.

The author and host on AM 770 The Truth reports from Florida it’s a huge change from the past two conventions.

“People here are expecting to win in November and I think there’s good reasons for those expectations,” Medved told the Ross and Burbank Show.

He pointed to a newly released CBS/NY Times poll showing Mitt Romney and President Obama running in a virtual dead heat ahead of Romney’s acceptance of the GOP nomination.

“That poll shows that after supposedly the devastation of the Todd Akin fiasco, after the tremendous expenditure by the Obama campaign to try to discredit Mitt Romney, that right now more people view Barack Obama unfavorably than view Mitt Romney unfavorably,” Medved said.

The poll finds 45 percent of voters viewed the president unfavorably, compared with 36 percent for Romney.

“Romney has a much better chance because far more people are uncertain about him,” Medved said, suggesting as more people get to know him this week and beyond, the more likely they’ll be to vote for him since President Obama is so well known.

When asked about Romney’s “likeability”, Medved called that a red herring concocted by the left and perpetuated by the media.

Medved pointed back to the poll as proof it’s a non-starter.

“I do think that as people hear a message of optimism and economic growth and basically getting a hold of federal spending, the biggest single issue (along with) the budget deficit, that people are going to decide not based upon who am I going to have a beer with…they’re going to decide based upon who can actually turn this critical situation around,” Medved said.

“Mitt Romney will never be as cool as Barack Obama, Mitt Romney will never be as cool as Paul Ryan. A lot of our great presidents have not been particularly cool,” Medved said.

The Michael Medved Show is heard Monday through Friday from Noon to 3 p.m. on AM 770 The Truth

Medved is in Tampa all week covering the convention.