This past weekend, I posted George Will's latest column in which he took Mitt Romney to task for his muddled and contradictory views on a number of different topics. No doubt this is a problem for Romney as it looks like he is one of the front runners for the Republican nomination in 2012.
I have noticed that Democrats have now gotten on board the conservative attacks on Romney. On Meet the Depressed, David Plouffe, Obama's senior political advisor, said that Romney has "no core" and on "issue after issue he has moved all over the place." Jennifer Granholm, former Democrat Governor of Michigan, had similar sentiments later in the panel section. The Democrats aren't even attacking the positions Romney is taking; they are attacking his seeming lack of conviction just as are conservatives. They obviously want to use this to drive a wedge between Romney supporters and conservatives who are very wary of the specter of a Romney presidency. And should Romney win the nomination, this will no doubt be a major problem in the coming months.
If Romney can give justification for his political positions, I think everyone will better be able to understand his thought process and how he thinks through issues. In the debates, Romney has slid by without really having to talk on the level of principle. For instance, how exactly is Romneycare in principle different than Obamacare? He has never had to answer that seemingly straightforward question. Or perhaps this question: Gov. Romney, why are you now pro-life when, as little as ten years ago, you were pro-choice? What changed? Now, I understand that people can change their minds, even about the most important issues. No one person--especially a politician--is going to be 100% consistent throughout their life. What is important are the reasons for the switch. The plausibility and thoughtfulness of the answers Romney may give to those questions would show how principled he really is.
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