Multiple Choice Mitt

Yesterday Mitt Romney surprised no one by announcing the formation of "an exploratory committee," via Twitter, that will allow him to somehow collect even more money in his never-ending race for the presidency.

Romney's 2008 campaign, though unsuccessful, did raise an impressive amount of money. In 2007 alone, Romney's campaign secured more than $88.5 million, although $35.4 million of this amount came from his own deep pockets. In all, the Romney campaigned raised and spent more than $107 million during 2007 and 2008.

During his presidential run, Romney received more money from people in California and Utah than those living in Massachusetts, the state that he governed from 2003 to 2007. Donors from California-- the most populous state in the country [and the only one which may have as many Mormons as Utah]-- gave Romney's campaign more than $8.4 million, more than twice as much as the more than $4.1 million from Bay State donors.

Utah-- with the nation's largest Mormon population but the 34th largest population overall-- did not hold back in supporting Romney, who is a member [and a Bishop] of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Contributions from Utah totaled nearly $5.5 million, or 11 percent of all contributions to the Romney campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics' research.

Romney's leadership PAC, Free and Strong America, is the second most prolific leadership PAC in the nation. As OpenSecrets Blog has previously reported on, Free and Strong America's $9.1 million haul during the 2010 election cycle is a close second to the $9.2 million war-chest raised by the Senate Conservatives Fund, which is the leadership PAC of Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). ... Donors to the Free and Strong America PAC come from a wide range of industries. Far and away, the industry to donate the most money to the PAC is the securities and investments industry, accounting for more than $1.1 million in contributions and more than 12 percent of the PAC's contributions overall. Retirees were a distant second with more than $638,000 in PAC contributions.

Individuals affiliated with Goldman Sachs were the top donors to Free and Strong America PAC: they contributed $231,000 during the 2010 election cycle.

In honor of the 5th anniversary of Mitt introducing universal healthcare to Massachusetts-- albeit with the individual mandates we've all come to hate-- we're republishing a clip of a debate from Romney's failed Senate campaign against Ted Kennedy (above). I'm guessing that performance was also the inspiration for the new website, Multiple Choice Mitt, which we'll be following avidly until his defeat in the Republican primary. Yesterday Steve Benen pointed out how incredibly weak Romney-- the purported front-runner-- is.

GOP officials in a variety of circles recognize that the former Massachusetts governor appears to be leading the pack, and keep asking, "So, who else is out there?"

If I were a betting man, I'd say Romney's odds of winning the nomination are fairly good, but that's primarily the result of an otherwise weak field, and it's pretty easy to imagine the GOP base turning on him.

Indeed, his Republican rivals-- likely to gang up on him from the outset-- probably look at Romney like a pinata waiting to get hit. We're talking about a former pro-choice governor who supported gay rights, gun control, and combating climate change, who distanced himself from Reagan, who loved a health care mandate, and who attended Planned Parenthood fundraisers. Perhaps no one in American public life over the last generation has changed his mind about so many issues, so quickly. Mitt Romney, for all intends and purposes, personifies the "flip-flopper."

...As for the jobs record Romney is so excited to talk about, he was governor of Massachusetts for four years, and during that time, his state's record on job creation was "one of the worst in the country." Adding insult to injury, "By the end of his four years in office, Massachusetts had squeezed out a net gain in payroll jobs of just 1 percent, compared with job growth of 5.3 percent for the nation as a whole."

How bad is Romney's record? During his tenure, Massachusetts ranked 47th out of 50 states in jobs growth. There's a reason he didn't seek re-election-- Romney was wildly unpopular in his home state after one term.

Taken together, I can see why Romney is the arguable favorite-- he has high name recognition, a lot of money, and a credible operation - but I can also see why no one in either party is necessarily afraid of him.