Welcome to Mitt Romney’s Nightmare

It’s been five months since former governor Mitt Romney suspended his campaign, and things have being going pretty well for him. He’s been appearing on television to support former nemesis John McCain, and in the process even earning some backhanded praise from the presumptive Republican nominee. The big slumber party was another coup, and to top it all off, the Mittster bought a fancy new house in California.

But, alas, life hasn’t been all roses for our man Mitt. Remember back in January of ’07 when he proclaimed that tapping into his personal fortune for campaign purposes would be “akin to a nighmare?” Well, six months later, the candidate did just that, sinking $45 million into his doomed candidacy. And now, Romney is going to have to call that money a loss.

We told you that you were a bad investment, Mitt.

Sometime before the Republican National Convention, Romney will file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to reclassify the “loans” as “contributions” to his failed campaign, kissing the $45 million goodbye.

Experts say the move is either brilliant (because the money was used to elevate Mitt’s national profile) or will completely ruin the governor’s hopes of sharing the ticket with McCain (because it goes against McCain’s reform message).

It sounds like a lot of money to us, but when you’re worth between $190 and $250 million, losing $45 million is sort of like getting Mitt Romney out of the governor’s office. Which is to say, when it’s gone, you don’t really miss it.