Mitt Romney, of all people, shows David Cameron a way ahead

Whatever may be said about his difficulties with the Republican base, there’s no doubt that Mitt Romney is a much more formidable candidate in 2012 than he was in 2008. It turns out that having form over course and distance really does matter. And, of course, it helps that he’s running to replace a Democratic, not a Republican, President.

Indeed, Romney’s confidence is such that he’s already testing lines and strategy for the general election. This may yet prove presumptious but, while he’s at it, he’s inadvertently offering some good advice to David Cameron and George Osborne too. Consider this passage (highlighted by Ross Douthat) from the most recent GOP debate in which he defends his plan for a middle-class tax cut against a typically asinine piece of criticism from Newt Gingrich:

Well, the reason for giving a tax break to middle income Americans is that middle income Americans have been the people who have been most hurt by the Obama economy.