Turnabout is Fair Play

In 2004, George Bush successfully depicted John Kerry as a flip flopper. The TV ad with the sailboat was genius, the sails changing direction to portray Kerry as a man without conviction. This successful ad evolved from one speech, one sound byte on one vote, taken entirely out of context, but it worked. Kerry lost in another close election for President Bush. Negative advertising and hardball politics Karl Rove style won the day. With Mitt Romney the probable Republican standard bearer, turnabout is fair play and if the Obama campaign plays it well, this may be Romney's achilles heel. Another New Englander to bite the dust. The difference this time, is that Romney is much more vulnerable than was Kerry, because Kerry's bona fides as a left of center moderate Democrat and his stands on issues, show conviction and principle and cannot be legitimately questioned at all. He was caught up in his words, but his record is consistent. Romney is different. As Governor of the bluest state and Presidential candidate, he has been a centrist moderate. He supported mandated insurance, spoke about a moderate and statesmanlike foreign policy, ridiculed social conservatives for not being mainstream enough and took reasonable and fair positions on social issues. Having lost in the past, he decided to throw all of his convictions and opinions out the window. He decided to get down to the level of the most extreme and most hateful wing of his party. He has been willing to say absolutely anything to appease voters and this disingenuousness speaks loudly with the 75 percent of his party that will not support him. With our primary system causing such moves to the edges, I can understand it but from a purely national campaign standpoint, Romney is open to ridicule and the flip flopper mantle ten times more than was Senator Kerry. Let the games begin. Where are you Americans for reason and truth?