The Return of the Returns

I was all set to give the day to Mitt Romney. I promise I was. Rasmussen Reports has him swinging back to his typical four-point lead. The press was piling on the Priorities USA ad that links a Bain Capital layoff to a cancer death — even to to the point that The Onion joined in. And Karl Rove was explaining how the fact that Romney is even competitive means he’s really ahead.

And then came CNN’s poll of registered voters with a double dose of bad news for Romney. First, the President is leading the Republican challenger by seven percent. Second, and most troubling for Romney, is that 63 percent of voters believe Romney should release more tax returns than the two years he has promised.

This news is timed perfectly with a new memo (PDF) and ad from the Obama campaign, which connects Romney’s unwillingness to release more tax information to one of the “largest tax avoidance schemes in history.”

Sorry, Governor. Your continuing welfare attack, which has also been assailed by fact checkers despite support from an unconvincing Newt Gingrich, isn’t enough to give you today.

Verdict: Thursday goes to the President.