With strategists this delusional, it's no wonder Romney lost

They'll always have this moment. And only this moment. Mitt Romney's top strategist, Stu Stevens, has penned a retrospective on his campaign so nuts, it partly explains his candidate's loss (something Republicans themselves were saying back in September).

Over the years, one of the more troubling characteristics of the Democratic Party and the left in general has been a shortage of loyalty and an abundance of self-loathing. It would be a shame if we Republicans took a narrow presidential loss as a signal that those are traits we should emulate.

Narrow presidential loss? President Barack Obama won 332-206, and has a 3.5-point lead in the popular vote, or 4.5 million raw votes. George W. Bush declared a big "mandate" in 2004 after winning the popular vote by just three million.

What's more, add up the states in which Obama won by more than five points, and he still wins with 272 electoral votes. In other words, Romney didn't come anywhere near a victory. Not even close.

Meet me below the fold as I continue.