Mitt Romney's campaign for president is over

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney ran for president in 2008 and lost.  He decided to run again in 2012 and won this time.  Unfortunately for the Republican Party, to paraphrase a line from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, this is not the presidential candidate that they wanted but the one that they had.



Last week, Romney had shown his weakness in foreign policy but holding the White House responsible for a statement released by the U.S. embassy in Cairo.

On Monday, David Corn unearthed a video on Mother Jones from a private May fundraiser held by Romney's campaign.  It's damaging to the Romney campaign and it's likely the death knell for the Romney campaign, too.

Romney was asked a question about the November election.  His response:

There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

Only, it got worse.  Romney continued on to say:

 "[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."

If that's not what kills Romney's campaign, then I don't know what else there is to say.  Bloomberg thinks that Romney is a dead duck in the water.

The Tax Policy Center offers some breakdowns of the 46% of Americans who pay no federal income tax.  While they do not pay federal income tax, they do pay taxes.

In fact, however, many of those who don’t pay income tax do pay other taxes—federal payroll and excise taxes as well as state and local income, sales, and property taxes.

Go read the TPC link for more on the matter.

Even The Onion got in on the act.

Peggy Noonan offered some advice for Mitt Romney.  It's up to Romney to consider it.  Her language was very harsh for the former governor.