Pity Poor Obamney

UPDATE III: "Mitt Romney insisted in his victory speech Tuesday in Florida that a prolonged Republican presidential race wouldn’t hurt his party.

But the longer the former Massachusetts governor has to campaign, the more ammunition he’s giving Democrats, at least when it comes to potential footage that could be used to paint him as an out-of-touch rich guy in the general election.

Romney’s assertion Wednesday morning on CNN that he’s “not concerned about the very poor” because they have a social safety net is the latest quote that Democrats can — and likely will — put to good use during the fall campaign, should Romney emerge as the GOP nominee.

But it’s not the first time Romney has served them a quote or a clip on a silver platter."

Read the Washington Post, Mitt Romney plays into Democrats’ looming rich-guy attacks.


UPDATE II: "I’m not sure the Obama campaign could have scripted this more perfectly. In a remarkable bit of good timing, President Obama is set to deliver a State of the Union speech focused on income [inequality] and tax unfairness on exactly the same day that Mitt Romney will reveal that he made over $40 million in the last two years — all of it taxed at a lower rate than that paid by middle class taxpayers. . .

[T]his comes as Obama is set to deliver a speech focused on extreme disparities of wealth, and on precisely the element of the tax code that enables his likely rival to pay a far lower rate than many middle class taxpayers — at a time of rising public preoccupation with inequality. As Chuck Todd put it this morning: 'If Team Obama could have picked any day to have Romney release his tax return, today might have been the day they’d pick.'

Romney doesn’t just disagree with Obama on these fundamental issues; he personally symbolizes virtually the entire 2012 Democratic message. He is the walking embodiment of everything Dems allege is wrong with our system and the ways it’s rigged in favor of the wealthy and against the middle class. Yet this is the standard bearer the GOP seems set to pick."

Read the Washington Post, What timing: On day of Obama’s big inequality speech, Romney reveals massive income, low tax rates.


UPDATE: "Under his plan, Romney in 2013 would see his taxes cut by nearly half of what they would be if you use current law as a baseline." Read the Washington Post, Romney’s tax plan would cut his own taxes by nearly half, new analysis finds.

In one recent year, he made only $374,327.62 giving speeches. A sum he described as "not very much." Read The New York Times, Romney Shares Some Tax Data; Critics Pounce.