http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84061.html?hp=t1

Democrats used to abandon failed presidential nominees.

George McGovern in 1972, Jimmy Carter in 1980, Walter Mondale in 1984, Michael Dukakis in 1988? They all became pariahs within their party after suffering crushing election defeats.

Now it’s Republicans’ turn to leave a failed candidate to the political wolves. Mitt Romney has become the GOP’s scapegoat. True, he didn’t suffer a landslide loss to President Obama on Nov. 6. He fell about 3.5 million ballots short in the popular vote; the Electoral College margin bordered on a wipeout, at 332-206.

If Romney had just not opened his mouth recently when asked how Obama beat him …

He told a radio talk show host the other day the president won by bestowing “gifts” on his constituent base. He seemed to be singling out Latinos, who voted in overwhelming numbers for the president. Romney’s sour-grape excuse sounded petty and unseemly in light of his graceful concession speech on Election Night.

Now that he’s run off at the mouth, other Republicans are leveling their own fire at their presidential nominee. “When you are in a hole, you stop digging,” U.S. Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., said. Romney “is still digging,” he said. Newt Gingrich said Romney’s remark is “nuts.”

One apparent reason for Romney’s abandonment has been that his fellow Republicans don’t like him very much. John McCain was said to have despised Romney when they ran against each other in 2008. Gingrich called Romney a liar during this year’s GOP primary campaign.

The Republican soul-searching is underway. The GOP was just certain – absolutely certain – that the White House was theirs for the taking. They nominated the wrong man.

And now Democrats can be forgiven for saying: Welcome to our world.