I'm not convinced that this isn't.
I think that Romney running screaming away from his record is probably doing more harm than embracing it (though I realize I kinda just got through making the opposite argument in regard to his taxes). The problem is that now, in addition to seeming spectacularly inauthentic, he's shying away from what he actually HAS accomplished, both good and bad.
On the other hand, I'm not convinced that any of that matters. Because he IS spectacularly inauthentic, and that's what's hurting him more than anything.
That was Bush's strength, really -- he was just as much a child of privilege as Romney is, and a much worse fuckup as both a businessman and politician. But he managed to convince people he was a regular guy.
Clinton, Obama, Reagan, all good at that. Dole was pretty good too but he was up against the master. Gore, Kerry, Romney -- not so good at the whole "connecting with people" thing. Though I think they all did a better job at it when they WEREN'T hamstringing themselves by trying to conceal their actual opinions on things as deeply as possible.
I mean, okay, here's an example: his response to the fucking horse story. Everybody knows about the damn horse; people are making fun of him for it and using it as a demonstration of how out-of-touch and rich he is.
So what's his solution?
That fucking bullshit about "Well, that's Ann's thing; I don't even know what day the event is and I won't be watching it."
Well, Mitt, that doesn't make you come across as less of a rich asshole; it makes you come across as a rich asshole who buys his wife expensive toys and then waves her off and trivializes the things she's interested in.
He'd have been better off just saying what Shinra said: "I'm so proud to be representing my country in the Olympics; what could be more American than that?"
I think that's the thing: whatever the issue, he refuses to own it. He runs the hell away from something as trivial as horse-dancing.
And I think people respect candidates who show backbone and conviction, and that in a lot of cases precisely what that conviction IS is secondary.