The American Spectator

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Special Report

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Supporters of Romney argue that his past stances are not as important as long as he is saying the right things now. Isn't at least saying that you're pro-life better than being openly pro-choice? Isn't being a member of the NRA better than not being a member? Isn't being an opponent of campaign finance reform better than being a supporter of it?

There are several problems with this line of reasoning. It's one thing if Romney changed his position on a single issue such as abortion, which a lot of politicians have trouble navigating. However, Romney has changed his mind on so much, so soon, that it raises doubts about anything that he promises to do as president. The only thing that's consistent about his rather thin public record is that he always takes the position that is most politically expedient at the time. Right now, he's saying what he needs to to win the Republican nomination, but what happens when he's no longer beholden to conservative primary voters?

Conservatives cannot look to Romney's single term as governor to get any indication of how he'd serve as commander in chief during a time of war. Sure, right now, he's talking tough. But given his history of shifting positions on other important issues, there's no reason to be confident that as leader of the war on terror, he would stand firm in the face of intense pressure from the media, the Democrats, and advisers armed with public opinion polls.

Last month, the Boston Globe reported on a leaked internal Romney campaign memo written by strategist Alex Castellanos: "the plan lists two ways Romney can set himself apart from Bush. The first says, simply, 'Intelligence.'" If Romney's transparent deceptions are any indication, in addition to thinking our president is dumb, his campaign must consider conservatives to be a bunch of morons, too.

topics:
John McCain, Abortion, Law