A day of gaffes for Mitt Romney

Today was a big day for Mitt Romney--he rolled out his choice for vice president, Paul Ryan and held a series of rallies across Virginia, a key battleground state. In Norfolk, Virginia Romney's partnership with Paul Ryan was only seven minutes old when Romney committed his first gaffe of the day, introducing Ryan as the "next President of the United States," a gaffe that may have been a bit of a freudian slip, as the largely personality-free Romney must surely know on some level that the more charismatic Ryan is going to overshadow him the same way Sarah Palin overshadowed John McCain. Here's the video: Romney's gaffe occurs just before the 7:00 mark.



Later, in Ashland, Virginia, Mitt Romney delivered his second major gaffe of the day when he appeared to endorse his state chairman Bill Bolling for governor:

Appearing to endorse Bolling in his home county, Romney called him "a great friend and, I hope, the next governor of this great state of Virginia."

Later, in remarks to the overflow crowd outside, Romney walked it back, saying of next year's GOP gubernatorial contest: "There are a couple of guys in the race, I love them both. I want to see one of those guys take [Gov. Bob McDonnell's] place."

Clumsy, inarticulate . . . classic Romney. At a moment when he needs Virginia Republicans to be united for him, Romney let it slip that he prefers his own state chair and establishment Republican par excellence, Bill Bolling over Tea Party favorite Ken Cuccinelli.

Seriously, this guy is going to stand on a stage and debate Barack Obama?