Sean Hannity criticized Mitt Romney on Thursday, saying that he was wrong to disavow a proposal to attack President Obama's past association with Jeremiah Wright.

The proposal, which was reported Thursday, was commissioned by billionaire Joe Ricketts. It would have featured hard-hitting commercials linking Obama with his former pastor. Romney said that he thought it was the "wrong course" to take in the campaign.

On both his radio and television show, Hannity pounded away at the presumptive Republican nominee, casting the decision as a weak mistake.

"This is what McCain did," Hannity said to "The Five" co-hosts Eric Bolling and Kimberly Guilfoyle on his Fox News show. "I want Romney to treat Obama the way he did Gingrich, and the way he attacked Santorum. I mean, frankly I think it got a little too mean, but now these things are off limits? ... I think Romney's made a mistake here, because the media, if it was him, they would go after him with a vengeance."

It's possible that Hannity was thinking about Romney's own words on his radio show in February. Romney raised the issue of Wright without any provocation then.

Guilfoyle strongly agreed with him, but Bolling said that bringing up Wright would take focus off of the economy, which should be Romney's biggest issue.

"I believe we can walk and chew gum at the same time," Hannity said.