Wiping That Slate Clean

In terms of Romney and his Etch-a-Sketch campaign, the comment resonates because the man has no apparent core beliefs. That is, beyond ensuring that talk about how the nation's laws favor the top 1% not occur outside of "quiet rooms". People who are already skeptical of Romney see it as confirmation of their impression.

But no matter how you look at the comment, given the extremes to which Romney's political transformations happily coincide with the latest opinion polls of likely primary voters, it seems reasonable to ask: How will he approach his next set of transformations as he attempts to move back toward the center? "Back them I was lying to get the nomination. This is completely different. Now I'm lying to win the November election!"

The more time people spend looking, the more examples they find of Romney having once staked out a position that is the opposite of his present claimed position.

Stop me if you’ve heard this attack: There’s a presidential candidate out there who wants high gas prices to force the government to finally increase regulations on cars, persuade Americans to stop driving those beastly SUVs, nudge people toward clean electric cars — all with the goal of combating climate change. And don’t even think about lowering gas taxes to help car owners out at the pump: That’s just a gimmick. Take a moment and guess which politician is behind these positions.

If you guessed Mitt Romney, you are correct. And his long history of enviro-friendly rhetoric during past surges in gas prices is proving awkward as he slams the White House for taking similar positions today.

The courtroom cliché is, "Were you lying then or are you lying now." With Romney, though, perhaps he was lying both times. How could you possibly know?