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Not only that, but it's Romney's "turn" if one follows the logic of past Republican nomination races. From 1980 on, there have been five Presidential elections without a Republican incumbent running for re-election. In all but one of those elections (2000), the Republican nominee has been the guy who came in second in the primaries during the previous nomination race with no incumbent:

Reagan came in 2nd in 1968 (and in 1976 against the incumbent Gerald Ford) and was the nominee in 1980.
Bush came in second in 1980 and was the nominee in 1988.
Dole came in second in 1988 and was the nominee in 1996.
Buchanan came in second in 1996 but, in the lone exception to the trend, withdrew from the Republican race in 2000 and instead accepted the Reform Party nomination.
McCain came in second in 2000 and was the nominee in 2008.

And Romney came in second in 2008....

As much as I would love to say Romney is old news and that he won't be a factor in 2012, history suggests otherwise. Add to that Romney's fund raising and organizational advantages, as well as his popularity among moderate Republicans, and you have someone who is, unfortunately, the presumptive candidate to beat.