The Video That Could Doom A Candidate

Brooks is at least a moderate, well-mannered conservative. AlterNet, a progressive blog, found 10 reactions to the video from disappointed and angry conservatives. The survey begins this way:

"Team Romney's biggest problem continues to be Mitt Romney. It's tough to build a campaign around a cartoonish 1-percenter whose CPU doesn't appear to be programmed for human empathy and who lacks an effective filter between brain and gums."

Mark McKinnon, a John McCain staffer who withdrew from the McCain campaign before it was over, had this to say for The Daily Beast in his read on what is next for Romney, post-video. McKinnon calls his post, Why Time is Running Out for Mitt Romney.

"I'm still a Republican. Trying to be, anyway. The progressive caucus is a lonely one these days. Nevertheless, we soldier on in hopes of regaining a voice in the party.

"Well, the release of the Romney tape was a moment that certainly revealed something about him. But not what I was hoping for. Just the opposite. It reveals a deeply cynical man, who sees the country as completely divided, as two completely different sets of people, and who would likely govern in a way that would only further divide us."

The video that could doom a candidate was secured surreptitiously with a cell phone. It was delivered to  Mother Jones by President Jimmy Carter's grandson, James E. Carter IV.

The CBS station in Atlanta gave this Associated Press version of Carter's work:

"The grandson of former President Jimmy Carter says he persuaded the source who secretly taped Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney at a fundraiser to release the full video to the media. James Carter IV of Atlanta says he was intrigued after seeing what he describes as a short, mysterious clip of Romney talking about Chinese factory conditions.

"He told The Associated Press that he tracked the source down on Twitter in August and convinced them to trust a journalist at Mother Jones magazine with the clips."

The younger Carter has been looking for his niche in the political world. He appears to have found a career on his own, tracking down obscure video tapes for wider, productive tasks. He has already received several job offers from prominent media outlets.

Various media reports on Carter's work described his finding the video and placing it with Mother Jones to be "poetic justice."  The reference, of course, to those who remember Jimmy Carter's loss to his Republican challenger, Ronald Reagan.

Young Carter's action constitutes poetic justice because his grandfather, President Carter, lost his bid for a second term bid when Reagan's handlers created an "October Surprise," by negotiating with Iran to delay release of American hostages until after the election. These were the hostages Carter had labored so long to set free. They were set free on the morning of Reagan's inauguration.

The picture of Romney, Dan Senor and Prime Minister Netanyahu is from The Jewish Tablet.  The videos are from Mother Jones.