Please, Mitt, don’t try to feel our pain anymore

That impulse has gotten him into trouble. Back in June, eager to relate to a group of unemployed Floridians, Romney exclaimed, “I’m also unemployed!’’ He routinely claims that he “never imagined’’ he’d one day run for president, even though this is his second try. Campaigning in Nashua Sunday, he said, “I know what’s it’s like to worry whether you’re going to get fired. There were a couple of times I wondered whether I was going to get a pink slip.’’

The idea that the privileged son of a CEO and presidential candidate never imagined running for president himself and feared losing his job in the same way that less fortunate people do rings hollow. And it set Romney up for some devastating rebuttals. “I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips,’’ Texas Governor Rick Perry responded. “Whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out.’’

One reason the criticism was so vociferous and triumphal when Romney remarked the next day that he liked being able to fire people - he was referring to choosing insurance companies - is that the sentiment is felt to be a more accurate reflection of his true nature than the Empathizer-in-Chief he’s tried to portray.

The puzzling thing is that there is really no reason for Romney to invite this kind of humiliation. He’s not a natural politician, and warmth has never been a part of his appeal. What sets him apart from other candidates - what’s supposed to be the basis of his campaign - is his experience at Bain Capital turning around struggling businesses, something he did more successfully than most of his peers. In a weak economy, that’s an invaluable credential. But only if Romney can focus public attention on the benefits of having that experience in the White House. Letting himself get pulled into a debate over who feels the more authentic connection to displaced workers is a losing bet.