That's a pretty interesting theory. Certainly, Romney was actually a vote "against," as neither side would be inclined to vote
for him; for liberals, he's a dread Republican, and for non-political-junkie limited government Americans and conservatives, he's a functional liberal Democrat. So pretty much any vote cast his way would be done to vote *against* Obama.
*sigh* Isn't it about time to go OFFENSE???
Really interesting point you make, R Cat. Probably spot on in many cases.