The reality is that voters aren’t strictly rational. This is why the Romney campaign is hoping that they throw enough negative ads on the air to take away Obama’s personal popularity, and in the end the Obama campaign is hoping that the president’s popularity and the personal goodwill he has generated will carry him to reelection. The media and the campaigns will continue to cackle and crank out the messages on the issues and false story lines, but in the end voters will elect the next president based on a simple question. Which candidate do I like best?