Mittens threw it. He could have curb-stomped Fatass Candey in the 2nd Debate and gone on a Trump-like scorched-earth diatribe, knowing he had actually taken the lead after the 1st Debate, and instead he threw the election, exactly like McCain threw 2008.
It is a God-blessed miracle that President Trump had 3 SCOTUS picks who promptly overturn Roe, when viewed in the factual light of the GOPe throwing two presidential elections in the New Century for literal fear of being tarnished as "racists" for having Zulu'd Obama.
Instead two things happened as a result -- Obama's Army, funded by Soros, who promptly stole control back in 2020; and the PLA were emboldened to take our money, US dollars, and create metropolis after metropolis overnight, while also building out their military; and meanwhile shitholes like Scranton -- the birthplace of Bidendropov -- suffer under both the ridiculous, reckless giveaway of capitalism to communism, and communism returning the favor by flooding Scranton with fentanyl.
Was Romney being weak kneed with his lame response to Crowley or deliberately trying to throw it? Hard to say. But one thing’s clear. It would have been business as usual if he had won. Same with McCain. They were both running at the pleasure of the deep state. They were the deep state’s insurance policy in case Obama, for some reason, wasn’t able to win, and they both knew it.