Republicans hit Mitt but don't say why they should lead

In addition to Weber, some of Romney’s aides remain defiant. One Romney adviser attributed much of the Republican criticism to what he believes is the continued wrong-headedness of the GOP pundit class who criticized Romney for the last couple of years. Many spent a long time casting doubt on Romney’s bona fides.

“Yet he went out and won the nomination,” wrote the aide in an email exchange. “Without putting in a dime of his own money. How did he do it? Well, more than anything there were the [primary season] debates. The debates proved that Romney was the most appealing Republican in the crowd. Appealing to VOTERS. Republican voters.”

“So I would be very hesitant,” the aide continued, “to believe that suddenly those who are criticizing Mitt Romney now are any more right than those who did for much of the last year and a half.”