For Romney, the damage was done by his fellow Republicans

Political campaigns are like wars. At some time during a skirmish, the generals declare that they’ve reached the key stage in the battle, and that all they have to do is keep up the momentum. Whether you’re running for president or a town board on Long Island, there is also a crucial time to declare that things are going well, and from there on it’s the road to victory.

Mitt Romney may wind up running the best and most aggressive campaign between now and Election Day, but right now he is on the road to defeat. Whether his campaign team will admit it or not, he has been defined by his opponents, and it has hurt him badly. President Obama’s strategists have done their job, but the dismantling of Romney’s image as a successful business leader and man of the people took place many months ago, and it was done by the Republicans, not the Democrats.

For almost nine months, candidates Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry and the so-called Tea Party crowd were telling conservatives and regular Republicans that candidate Romney was the wrong person for the White House. They were aided by some of the same deep-pocketed people who have now switched their allegiances to Romney, but it may be too late.

Opinion poll after poll seems to show that Romney’s experience at Bain Capital is a negative. Considering that his major plus was going to be his business background, he has been denied that very important part of his credentials. Voters seem to trust him more on the handling of the economy, yet his poll numbers on his career are a big negative.

Romney has been painted as an elitist, someone who doesn’t relate to the common man, and that was done in blistering commercials paid for by Republicans. The first demand for the release of his tax returns was made by Newt Gingrich, and then all the other Republican candidates piled on, demanding he do it. Romney gave out two years of returns, but now the Democrats are asking for more of them, and it’s an issue that’s hurting him.