1 year ago 
 
 Washington (CNN) - New poll numbers out Wednesday from three key battleground states underscore the danger of that leaked fundraising video for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. 
 
 According to fresh New York Times/CBS News/Quinnipiac polling, majorities of likely voters in Wisconsin, Virginia and Colorado say that Romney's policies favor the rich. 
 
 
 
 – Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker 
 
 In Wisconsin, 55% of likely voters say a Romney administration would benefit wealthy people. In Virginia, 56% say the same. In Colorado, the number is 54%. 
 
 The number of voters in those swing states who think Romney's policies would favor the middle class? Just about 10%. 
 
 Contrast that with President Barack Obama's numbers on the same question. 
 
 In all three states, a plurality say Obama's policies favor the middle class. Only a sliver of voters say the president favors the rich, while roughly a quarter say he favors the poor. 
 
 –Check out more CNN Polls at the CNN Polling Center. 
 
 The new polls were taken before video surfaced of Romney privately telling a group of rich donors that nearly half the country is "dependent on the government" - and that's precisely the problem. 
 
 The Romney video reinforces what people already think about the candidate, and that only helps the Obama campaign push the now-familiar narrative that Romney is a rich plutocrat who is of touch with the concerns of regular people. 
 
 Also see: 
 
 - In new tape, Romney casts doubt on peace in Israel 
 
 - Obama camp wastes no time highlighting Romney tapes 
 
 - Hatch might 'die before his term' ends, opponent charges 
 
 - Biden on Romney tape: 'words speak for themselves' ||||| James Carter IV, the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter, says it was “poetic justice” he helped publicize video of the closed-door fundraiser now plaguing GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s campaign. 
 
 “A lot of my Twitter followers have been saying that it’s poetic justice that a Carter was the one who helped to get out this video that’s given the Romney campaign so much trouble,” Carter IV said Tuesday on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360.” “And I agree with that.” 
 
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 Romney has regularly trashed former President Carter on the trail. The younger Carter said his grandfather didn’t know about the video before it leaked but sent him an email calling it “extraordinary” after the video came out. 
 
 Carter also told Cooper he doesn’t know the name of the source of the video who he put in touch with Mother Jones reporter David Corn, and has only communicated with him through direct messages on Twitter.
– Paul Ryan tried to massage his running mate's 47% faux pas yesterday in an interview with KRNV-TV in Nevada. "He was obviously inarticulate in making this point," Ryan said. "The point we're trying to make here is, under the Obama economy government dependency is up." Does Ryan think Romney regrets the comment? "I think he would have said it differently, that's for sure. But the point stands." A look around at the 47% fallout: The GOP is gently panicking over the video, and the Romney campaign's seeming inability to gain momentum, Politico reports. "The campaign is now in a spiral and no one knows how to pull out," a McCain 2008 strategist says. "Romney needs a big idea, then he needs to shift the debate to spending." Scott Brown outright distanced himself from Romney's comments. "That's not the way I view the world," he said. "As someone who grew up in tough circumstances, I know that being on public assistance is not a spot that anyone wants to be in." Conservative stalwart Peggy Noonan savaged the campaign in a Wall Street Journal post. "It's time to admit the Romney campaign is an incompetent one," she writes. "It's not big, it's not brave, it's not thoughtfully tackling great issues. … An intervention is in order." A new poll underscores how damaging the video could be: It shows that in swing states, somewhere between 54% and 56% believe a Romney presidency would benefit the rich, while just 10% believe it would benefit the middle class, CNN reports. And that was before the video hit. Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter IV took a bit of a victory lap on Anderson Cooper's show last night. "A lot of my Twitter followers have been saying that it's poetic justice that a Carter was the one who helped get out this video," he said, according to Politico. "And I agree with that."