Popular Vote 2012: Romney May End Up With 47 Percent of the Vote, Oh the Irony

As a disheveled Mitt Romney is seen pumping his own gas and enjoying some overdue amusement park fun with wife Ann, official numbers for the 2012 popular vote still haven't been released as some states and counties continue the slow count.

But, as Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report tweeted, there could be a poetic justice surprise in storage for Romney as so far — with the latest votes from Maryland — the former governor of Massachusetts holds 47.56% of the popular vote. 

Romney got blasted during the campaign after a clandestine video from a Florida private fundraiser was leaked by liberal blog Mother Jones. The former CEO of private equity firm Bain Capital is seen and heard in the video saying that 47% of Americans see themselves as victims who depend on the government and would vote to reelect President Obama "no matter what."

The comment was quickly seized by the Obama campaign which described it as "divisive" and used it in numerous campaign ads to make its point that challenger Romney was an out of touch millionaire ignorant of the needs of middle and lower income Americans. The 47% gaffe also caused the Republican ticket to plunge in the polls until Romney was able to regain some ground after wining the first presidential debate. 

Wasserman believes that, when all the votes from solidly blue New York and California are counted, Romney's current 47.56% tally after the Maryland ballots could well lower to just 47%, the number that might have doomed his chances of becoming president — oh, the irony.