People really, really dislike politicians. They hate Washington. They think politics is broken — maybe irreparably. Congress’s approval rating in the latest Gallup poll was at 17 percent — and that was an improvement (!) from where it’s stood for most of the past few years.

Romney spent the entirety of his presidential primary campaign casting himself — smartly — as an outsider to Washington and its ways. In the early days of the general election, Romney is, again, aiming to draw an insider vs. outsider contrast against President Obama. And Romney’s senior campaign officials make no attempt to hide their disdain for the ways of Washington…

Being the guy the party insiders have taken a shine to won’t help — and very well could hurt — his cause.