How Romney’s wealth is ultimately perceived by voters in the center of the American electorate will play a critical role in determining whether or not he can beat President Obama. …

The political problem for Romney in all of this is not that he’s wealthy. (President Obama is quite wealthy in his own right thanks to the success of his books.)

It’s that the way Romney talks about money can make him seem drastically out of touch with average people — an issue that is exacerbated by the fact that he is running for president in a time of incredible economic hardship. (In a new Washington Post-ABC poll,55 percent said the biggest problem facing the country is “unfairness in the economic system that favors the wealthy” while 34 percent said the biggest issue is “over-regulation of the free market that interferes with growth and prosperity”.)