President Obama’s polling and focus-group chief offers rare public perspective on state of race

As head of polling and focus group research for President Obama, David Simas of Taunton says he’s “like a human nerve-ending” because of the dizzying array of numbers and videotape he constantly scans. …

Simas made several public appearances during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., including one at a breakfast meeting of the Massachusetts delegation.

It provided rare – if assuredly optimistic – insight to the campaign’s private perspective on the state of Obama’s race with Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. [cont.]

Glen Johnson, Boston Globe