But in recent weeks I have changed my mind. In recent months and indeed, in the last several days, Romney has increased his already serious problem of being a flip-flopper and coming across as inauthentic, and also showed serious political tone-deafness as a non-compassionate conservative.
Several recent examples come to mind. There was Romney’s insensitive statement in Las Vegas last week — in a state with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation — that he wanted to allow home foreclosures to “hit the bottom” to help the housing industry recover. That might be rational economic market theory — but it’s not an example of showing any empathy for the folks just blocks away from his press conference who are losing their homes to banks.
Next came the attack on Texas Gov. Rick Perry for supporting the children of illegal residents in Texas paying in-state tuition rates while attending Texas public colleges. But Romney apparently had forgotten that in Massachusetts, he had supported a healthcare law that guaranteed illegal residents of the Bay State access to tax-subsidized healthcare.
Then there was Romney going to Ohio two days ago and flip-flopping on his prior support for Gov. John Kasich’s law barring collective bargaining for public employee workers. Recently Ohio polls show a 25-point advantage for a referendum to repeal the law. So now, Romney claimed that he had no position on the referendum.
Just a few days ago, Romney immediately criticized Obama for his announcement that all U.S. military forces would be withdrawn from Iraq by Dec. 31, 2011. But he knew that the main reason for Obama’s rather sudden announcement was the Iraqi government’s intransigence over many months of continuing the grant of legal immunity for U.S. soldiers risking their lives, an immunity that the U.S. government has always insisted on, regardless of the administration. Yet Romney by innuendo suggested that Obama’s decision might have been politically motivated.