Man the GOP should have done a better job vetting their candidate or not let him just purchase the nomination.
In some way, I think this is very wrong. I think in some sense, they vetted their candidate very thoroughly. The problem is that the vetters were just completely messed up. They are just as out of touch as the candidate.
Look at the "47%" flap. It's a recording from an insider meeting, in which the candidate discusses lots of issues in a rather off the cuff manner with a lot of very wealthy donors. When the tape surfaced, it would have been very easy to explain the remarks away. "I didn't really mean that. I got two sets of statistics messed up. There's a mooch class in America, but it's very small....etc." It could have been no more meaningful than candidate Obama's statement once upon a time that he had visited 57 states.
The problem was that Romney meant it. In explaining the remarks, he confirmed them, all the while trying to deny them. He proved, beyond all doubt, that he really didn't get it. And how could he be so wrong? He's surrounded by people who are just as wrong. All he was really doing was regurgitating a Republican talking point anyway.
In other words, the vetters wouldn't have spotted the problem.
In terms of switching to plan B, I still don't think they understand what's going wrong. However, they can read the polls and see that something isn't working, even if they don't know what it is. They may not understand people, but they understand investments, and they can see that they are unlikely to turn a profit on their investment in Romney.