Mitt Romney, day in and day out, hears it wherever he goes, whether at campaign events for Republican congressional candidates, restaurants, or private dinners, the message is the same — run for president in 2016.

Romney associates say he is flattered by the attention and believes he would have done a better job if he had defeated the Democratic incumbent President Barack Obama in 2012 when he was the Republican nominee.

But Romney typically insists in public that he is not going to run for a third time after losses in 2008 and 2012.