Posted on 02/05/2007 12:52:42 PM PST by meg88
BOSTON - Last spring when the tender shoots of John Kerry's ambition were rising again like a hardy perennial, I uttered a cri de coeur or, as we say in English, a shriek: "Stop Him Before He Kills (The Democrats' Chances) Again." Kerry is a thoughtful man but a God-awful presidential candidate. And so the one person who choked up at last week's announcement that he wasn't going to run again was, well, John Kerry.
But no sooner do we celebrate the demise of one Massachusetts candidate, then up pops the next one. The unlamented former Gov. Mitt Romney is becoming a true contender, harvesting endorsements and attention in pursuit of the Republican nomination for president.
I realize that Bay State politicians from John Adams to Mike Dukakis have long suffered from Potomac Fever. But Steve Crosby, dean of the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and a chief honcho for two previous Republican governors, says Romney suffers from "Potomac Ebola Virus."
A particularly virulent strain has infected the man running from Massachusetts. Or should I say, running away from Massachusetts. Or against Massachusetts. Our man Mitt is positioning himself to the right of every Republican candidate with the exception of Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback. He has famously told audiences that "being a conservative Republican in Massachusetts is a bit like being a cattle rancher at a vegetarian convention." He's repeatedly described himself as a lonely figure fighting the values fight against "the Kennedy-apologist, knee-jerk Clinton supporters" and . . . you get the idea.
Even "Evangelicals for Mitt" - yes, there is such a Web site - says that "He shares our values, and he's fought for those values in hostile territory."
The idea, the pitch, the shtick is that if Romney can make it as a conservative Republican here, he can make it anywhere. There's only one small problem: HE DIDN'T MAKE IT HERE AS A CONSERVATIVE. Romney ran and won as the fourth in a direct line of moderate Republican governors.
Romney is the author of a book called "Turnaround," a proud reference to his career as a venture capitalist and to his star turn in salvaging the scandal-plagued Salt Lake City Olympics. But I assure you there is no turnaround as impressive as the one he's done on himself.
You can go to the Internet for the Compleat YouTubing of Mitt's miraculous transformation. But here's a short reprise:
The old Mitt said, "I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose." The new Mitt says, "I'm committed to promoting the culture of life."
The old Mitt wanted emergency contraception to be more readily available. The new Mitt vetoed a bill to have it sold over the counter.
The old Mitt promised "more effective leadership" toward "full equality" for gays and lesbians. The new Mitt is dining out on his opposition to gay marriage and adoption.
The old Mitt was in favor of embryonic stem cell research. The new Mitt is boasting of his leadership in the fight against "human cloning." I am delighted to see a politician evolve, although evolution is not high on the dance card of the religious right. Romney prefers saying he was just wrong in the past.
You can regard Romney as the veritable model of the Venture Capitalist as Politician, doing and saying whatever it takes. Indeed, Crosby describes Romney's governorship as like "a corporate takeover. . . . He took over the asset, stripped it of what it was worth to leverage him into another asset, the presidency. There's no way to think he has any core beliefs other than leveraging to the next acquisition."
Memo from this citizen of Massachusetts: Our Turnaround Master is now Your Spinmeister. Best of luck. No returns.
I don't like this guy. He could just flip-flop again after taking advantage of the Republican/Christian campaign machinery.
Disagree with Mitt Romney? No problem! Just wait 10 minutes.
Newt - for Conservatism - 2008. He would give the socialists major heartburn and an uphill fight.
He and Hillary in the national election would be interesting....
who carries the most baggage.
Kinda deja vu of when Lieberman was invited to run as VP with Gore...I have never seen a frothing liberal born so fast overnight in my life....they are all chameleons. Say what it takes to get elected.
Newt, Duncan Hunter or Sam Brownback if he could ever come around on immigration.
Hi, I'm Ellen Goodman, and I think I'm just cute as a button!
You can't be sure at this point whether he's sincere or just being Mitt Isuzu...
"Hello," lied the politician.
Is there an Ellen Goodman ping list yet?
I thought Maureen Dowd and the NYT did wonders with photoshop, but Ellen! :)
I thought Maureen Dowd and the NYT did wonders with photoshop, but Ellen! :)
"Disagree with Mitt Romney? No problem! Just wait 10 minutes."
Come on, he's had a "conversion" to being anti abortion after vehemently professing his pro-choice bonafides for 30 years!
It's the kind of conversion that can only come from wanting to be president.
In 2004, when kerry did it it was called flip flopping. With Romney, it's now called 'conversion'. Praise the lord, pass the ballots.
I'm not sold on Mitt Romney. But I'm not about to take Ellen Goodman's word for it. Frankly, if she's bothering to attack him, it's a point in his favor.
When it comes to steadfastness of principles, Mitt Romney makes John Kerry look like Winston Churchill.
While Duncan Hunter remains my favorite, I have to face the very real possibility he won't get past the first three or four primaries. We've all got to consider second and third choices.
Another thing I like about Mitt is that he's earned enough money on his own that George Soros can't buy him.
That is crap. Romney toed the line on a few issues when it came to campaigning.
Not the most admirable quality for any person I agree. Still, it got him into the Governor's office and saved this state from the likes of Shannon O'Brien.
That would be the same democrat who on national television assured us all here that she was OK with abortions for teenagers w/out parental knowledge or consent while simultaneously cracking an insipid joke about the age restriction for getting tattoos.
Romney screwed us all here by signing off on that outrageous health care mandate, but other than that, he was the most effective politician that this state has seen in many years when it came to reigning in the Socialist Legislature in Massachusetts.
Worse than her unesthetic mug, is that her drivel is posted here at all. If a point is worth making, it can be made without stooping to post an Ellen Goodman column. Didn't a little voice say: "Stop meg88, don't do this, Ellen Goodman doesn't belong at FR!"?
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