Flashback Krugman on Mitt and Bain

[ProSense]

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And here’s the thing: Romney is running for president entirely on the basis of his business success...Once the Bain record becomes a liability instead of a strength, there’s nothing there.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/business-is-not-economics/

The reason Mitt is taking a huge hit on his 47 percent comment is because his credibility was on the slide. People forget the relentless Bain criticisms and those on Romney's tax proposal when he was labeled Romneyhood. The ads helped to erase Romney's edge on the economy. The media/factcheckers tried to intervene, but they couldn't effectively spin away the facts of Bain.

By the time the conventions rolled around, Romney was bruised and his advantage on the economy was slipping away. The chair debacle at the RNC further eroded his credibility. The DNC put the nail in the coffin, especially since Mitt failed to get the edge he was hoping for from the August jobs report.

Mitt skated as long as he could, but it was only a matter of time before the media and his allies would be unable to shield him from himself. The aftermath of the conventions was just such a time when more and more Americans were tuning in. Mitt screwed up, and then screwed up again, and again.

He went Palin on Russia, and now he has basically entered the "I'm not a witch" stage. (http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021421930)

[ProSense]

1. Amusing:

Losing ground in Ohio, Romney says his "heart aches" for jobless

By Steve Holland and Lisa Lambert

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On a day when the rivals held dueling events across the state, Romney mixed empathy for the unemployed - at one point, he said his "heart aches" for the jobless - with attacks on Obama's trade policy toward China. Foreign trade is a sensitive subject in a state where thousands of manufacturing jobs have gone overseas.

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In the video, Romney - a former private equity executive with a fortune estimated at up to $250 million - tells wealthy donors to his campaign that 47 percent of Americans are "victims" who depend on government, do not pay federal income taxes and are unlikely to support him.

The airing of the comments last week sent Romney's campaign into crisis mode. Democrats were quick to point out that the "47 percent" to whom Romney referred - those who receive some form of government benefits - included not just the poor but working-class families, members of the military and the elderly, some of whom Romney has depended upon for support.

So in a sense, Romney's bus tour in Ohio this week has had the feel of a damage-control operation.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/09/27/us-usa-campaign-idINBRE88N13D20120927