The American Spectator

Byron York zeroes in on the bad blood between McCain and Romney camps and the exchange in which Romney denies calling McCain's immigration plan amnesty. The more I think about it the stranger that seems. First, Romney does want voters to think it is amnesty so why deny it? Second, he repeatedly HAS called it amnesty-- so, again, why deny it and provide more fodder for the credibility cops who can point to dozens of Romney's own ads and mailers? I think the reality lies in something others picked up last night. Romney does not deal well with direct confrontation. He shrinks from a direct clash and isn't the type of candidate to say "Darn right I called it amnesty!" If you recall the "Woodstock" debate, McCain's other memorable moment was essentially calling Romney a phony to his face. Romney let it pass. Can you imagine Thompson or Rudy not engaging on this point? There is a fine line between staying above the fray and running, even at the point of undermining your own arguments and damaging your credibility, from a good fight on the issues. It may be polite or proper etiquette in the business world but this is politics. If you're not going to stand up for yourself, others sure won't.