I've just come from the Americans for Prosperity Republican cattle call in Manchester, New Hampshire, where, among other things, Mitt Romney made his debut as a 2012 presidential candidate. I'll have more later. But the short version: didn't go so well. Romney made the awkward suggestion to "hang" country's misery around Obama's neck--then caught himself, mid-gaffe, and tried to backpedal and emphasize that he meant it metaphorically, and then seemed to decide that he was already screwed and might as well preemptively try to blame the press. Here's the clip:

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.