In 2008, Mitt Romney tapped into his personal fortune to run for president, pumping nearly $45 million directly into his political campaign. There could not have been a more visible demonstration of the economic distance between Mr. Romney and the middle-class citizens he sought to lead as president.
Despite that, his vast wealth never really became a serious issue in the 2008 campaign. Few people demanded that he release his tax returns or made a big issue out of his role at a private equity firm. When a candidate was mocked for not knowing how many homes he owned, it was Senator John McCain, the eventual nominee, not Romney.
As he battles for the Republican nomination, Romney’s hesitant, uncertain answers about his wealth have provided an opening for two rivals, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, to become the candidate of the middle class, which Mr. Romney had set out to be.
Santorum has always portrayed himself as the grandson of a coal miner. Now, that image contrasts even more sharply with the picture of a Wall Street-connected rich guy whose fortune includes money in offshore accounts.
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