CHARLESTON, S.C.

WHAT a choice we’ll have in the fall: one man on a pedestal, another behind a wall.

Democrats and independents may have fallen out of love with President Obama, but Republicans and independents can’t fall in love with Mitt Romney. The two Harvard Law School grads are heading into a match with oddly matching flaws: both became famous while staying enigmatic and inaccessible.

If Obama is Spock, Romney is the Tin Man. If Obama failed to rein in Wall Street vultures, Romney reigned among Wall Street vultures.

The Republican front-runner is fighting back in South Carolina against charges from rivals that he was a heartless plunderer at Bain. The jobless statistics, he said at a rally in Aiken, represent “real people and real suffering.”

Ignoring his own tax plan, which would help the wealthy and hurt the poor, Romney adopted a heartfelt tone: “I’m concerned about the poor in this country. We have to make sure the safety net is strong and able to help those who can’t help themselves. I’m not terribly worried about the very wealthiest in our society. They’re doing just fine.”