Chasm Opens Between Mitt and 'The Rest'

The jumble that has been the race to be the GOP nominee is finally sorting itself out—into Mitt Romney and the rest of them. Romney has been tallying 20 points more than his closest rival in recent polls, and could be unstoppable if he hangs on to that lead past Tuesday, predicts the Washington Post. And that means that everyone who is not Romney is sharpening his bid to "derail the one who is," notes the New York Times. The attack from all sides will likely cramp Romney's style to appear to be the gentlemanly candidate with his eye on the Big Race against the President, and not his current rivals.

Something that might clip his wings a bit is a super PAC TV ad out this week supporting Newt Gingrich: It portrays multi-millionaire Romney as a predatory capitalist who destroyed jobs and communities when he ran the private equity firm Bain Capital. The ad is based on a movie financed by an anti-Romney GOP money-man that involves tearful interviews with people who lost jobs at companies bought and sold by Bain, according to the Times. The ad dents Romney's claim that his private sector experience has taught him how to create jobs. Click for more on the video, which has a surprising producer. (More Mitt Romney stories.)