By Bill O'Reilly

Beginning with his reaction to the violence in the Middle East and extending to a secretly taped comments about Americans wanting entitlements, the last seven days have not been good for Governor Romney.

However, polling still shows a very tight race. A Rasmussen daily tracking poll actually has Romney leading by one, 47-46. The Associated Press has the President leading by one, 47-46. And NBC News has Mr. Obama up by five.

So despite the national media's disdain for Mitt Romney, the election remains very close. By the way, all those polls are among likely voters. "The Factor" is not reporting general polling this season because it really doesn't matter.

Now, many committed Republicans are frustrated with Mitt Romney. They believe he has made far too many mistakes, comes across as remote and is on defense rather than offense. Some of those criticisms are valid. Certainly the Governor has not brought a sense of urgency to the campaign. And "Talking Points" does believe America is in dire trouble economically.

For the record, President Obama does not believe that and apparently his supporters do not either. So it's up for Romney to illuminate the problem. He doesn't have to use scare tactics. He just has to use stats as we did here last night in the "Talking Points" memo.

With just 47 days before the vote, it looks like Governor Romney will have to persuade the voters he needs to win the election by winning the debates. There are three of them in October and if the Governor does not come across well, he is finished.

A fascinating part of the election cycle this year is how many Americans continue to believe in Barack Obama. It's clear that his economic policies haven't worked. They might work down the road. It's possible but today the situation remains bleak.

So if you're going to vote for the President, you are doing so on emotion. You hope things will turn around. Same thing can be said for Mitt Romney's free marketplace strategy. There is no guarantee it would work. But Romney has a far stronger economic background than does President Obama.

Yet the race remains deadlocked. And that's because both candidates have visible deficits. And we're not talking money here.

And that's "The Memo."

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