This election cycle has really exposed a problem the GOP has with dealing with the media. We started seeing it with Herman Cain, who is the only one to blame for his own campaign’s demise with his handling of the questions of inappropriate conduce while head of the National Restaurant Association. Instead of coming clean, he chose to make the matter worst by giving snippy comebacks and dodging the actual questions. And while the Cainiacs out there tried to play the “blame the liberal media” game, the actual blame could only be placed upon Herman himself. It was his campaign that turned what would have been a week long story into a month long circus. Sure some blame his campaign, but it is HIS campaign and the buck stops with him.

So having seen such an implosion play out on the public stage, you think that other GOP candidates would learn a lesson. For Mitt Romney that isn’t the case.

Today we finally learned that he pays about 15% in income tax. That comes out after more than a month of reporting on his denying the release of his income tax returns. That added more than a month of the media asking questions and pushing the issue. Instead of just saying “yeah I’ll show them when/if I’m the nominee”, Mitt has drawn out the media scrutiny much like Herman Cain.

Then we have Newt Gingrich prepared to make a very good and calculated campaign move. Tomorrow Newt is set to release his income tax returns. While that isn’t enough to push Newt into the nomination, it will provide even more fire for Mitt and more ammo for the not-Mitt crowd.

The problem with the GOP is that they can’t look at their own downfalls. They define delusions of grandeur, viewing themselves as infallible while blaming everyone else, the “liberal media” in this case.

The stories of Cain and Mitt are ones that in no way help their campaigns. On the contrary, they are very serious speed bumps on the road to the nomination. This is in contrast to the whole birther crap, which actually helped President Obama and the left. That was a conspiracy fueled, racist rant that hurt the right. That’s obvious by the way so many Republicans dodged the issue.

If Mitt would have just vowed to show his tax returns when first asked and been more forthcoming about his finances then this would have been a week long story. Now there is no end in sight to the story and that’s a big problem for Mitt Romney and the GOP. I’m sure in the end the blame will once again go to the “liberal media”, but in fact the only one who deserves blame is Mittens himself.