“Inside the beltway, Romney is seen as a classic front-runner who’s picked his issues wisely”
I agree with this assessment. He has picked his issues carefully and wisely. “I need conservative votes in the primaries. Let’s see, a conservative is pro-gun and anti-abortion, so I am too. A conservative’s fiscal stance is one that minimizes government influence, so that’s my stance...” “To beat Ted Kennedy, I must be more pro-gay, pro-choice, and anti-gun than he is perceived to be...”
He has failed to convince me that thee truly are his personal issues, though. Having looked up his senate campaign and gubernatorial campaigns, he picks his personal beliefs to win at the moment. It’s hard to see who he is and what he believes in until you see what he has actually DONE. And he can’t erase the facts that he disliked Reagan and his policies and followers.
As for Saving The Olympics and Ending Corruption, when you drill down into that issue, all you find is vague news releases claiming those things and other feats, with almost no detail as to just what he did other than donating a million or so of his own money. There is plenty of controversy there too, frosted over with vague Romney speeches about how nobody specifically banned Boy Scout participation, it was just a random set of rules that led to no uniformed Scout being seen on TV or any operations organized at the Boy Scout level.
It’s hard to see who he is and what he believes in until you see what he has actually DONE. And he can’t erase the facts that he disliked Reagan and his policies...
Very good assessment of Romney, in my opinion.
During the whole time he was running in the 2008 primary, I couldn't figure out what the guy stood for, for the life of me. I really didn't want to go digging to pin him down. I didn't feel that I should have to.
His record and positions on the issues that are important to Americans should have been lit up and large enough for me to clearly see. They weren't, which caused me to mistrust him.
I still don't know what he stands for.