One of Mitt Romney’s advantages as a presidential candidate is that he’s done this before. Many of his more dramatic flip-flops occurred four or five years ago, leaving the former governor to be relatively consistent since.
At least that’s the general idea. Romney, however, is so prolific in his reversals, he keeps breaking new ground. I think videos like these are pretty brutal.
For those who can’t watch clips online, this one is pretty straightforward: Romney told a Florida audience on Wednesday that he supports many of the provisions in President Obama’s “Race to the Top” education reform policy. Last night, just a day later, Romney denied supporting “any particular program” in the president’s policy. The clip, from American Bridge, highlights the contradicting positions plainly — what Romney was for on Wednesday he was against on Thursday.
Now, in a national context, most conservatives probably don’t much care about “Race to the Top.” In fact, in Congress, even some Republican lawmakers have offered tepid praise for the policy. The fact that Romney had some positive things to say about Obama’s program probably wouldn’t have caused much of a stir. This generally isn’t an issue that stirs passions for a large percentage of the electorate.
The point, though, is the ugly habit Romney has of taking one position on an issue and then soon after taking the exact opposite position. In this case, the 180-degree turn on education policy took literally just one day.
And then Romney has the chutzpah to boast, “I stand by my positions“? Seriously?
I can vaguely understand how Romney became a leading presidential candidate. How anyone trusts his word, however, remains a mystery to me.
