The Romney team's indecisiveness over whether the healthcare rulng is a tax or a penalty amounted to an "unforced error" which may be considered the "turning point" if the campagin loses in the fall, according to an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal Thursday.

Romney's recent admission that the healthcare mandate qualified as a tax after two members of his campaign made contradictory statements  meant “the campaign looks confused in addition to being politically dumb.”

The article said the mishandling of such a crucial political opportunity signaled the campaign was in distress and "losing ground."

William Kristol said Romney's strategy "strikes me as a path to (narrow) defeat" in the Weekly Standard Thursday.

While Romney has little favor with conservative editorial pages, Ann Romney's revelation that her husband is considering female candidates for a running mate may be intended to raise his stock with women voters.

"We've been looking at that, and I love that option as well," Ann Romney told CBS News Thursday. Mitt Romney declined to comment on his search for a potential vice president. 

Some of the top names being considered are all male: Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

But some of the female names mentioned in the veep search include South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman.

 

Read the story at the Associated Press or the Los Angeles Times.

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