We missed this the first time around, and now that it’s been plastered all over the place, it may be too late. But it’s a slow afternoon, and this shows Mittens in full Jerry Lundegaard mode, so what the hell.

[via TPM]

“First came Spreading Santorum, Dan Savage’s crude attempt at redefining Rick Santorum’s name on Google after Santorum said some crude things about gay people. Now comes Spreading Romney, a similar attempt to redefine Mitt Romney’s name on the Internet — as a verb, meaning ‘to defecate in terror.’” [Newser, via Blogenfreude]

Let the “You’re Fired!” references begin. (Press conference in progress.)

The Romney line everyone’s talking about:

“I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs a repair, I’ll fix it.”

The line that follows:

“I’m not concerned about the very rich… I’m concerned about the very heart of America, the 90-95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”

Moments later:

Read more »

“Edward Davies, Mitt Romney’s militantly atheist father-in-law, was indeed posthumously converted to Mormonism by his family, despite the fact that when he was alive he regarded all religions as ‘hogwash.’” [Gawker, via Political Wire]

“Tax analysts say Romney may have good reason to be reluctant to release his returns. His vast fortune is invested in dozens of funds linked to Bain Capital LLC, the powerhouse private equity firm he co-founded and led for 15 years. Several Bain funds have offshore connections and take advantage of tax breaks used only by the U.S. financial elite.” [Reuters, via Political Wire]

“‘It’s probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything,’ Romney told reporters when asked about his effective tax rate. ‘The last ten years my income comes overwhelmingly from investments made in the past rather than ordinary income or rather than earned annual income.’” [CNN]