I'll have a more detailed take on Mitt Romney's speech in D.C. this afternoon a little later, but there was one claim in particular that's worth special scrutiny.
Romney argued today that President Obama's campaign strategy is to "re-elect him so we can find out what he will actually do." The likely Republican nominee added, "With all the challenges the nation faces, this is not the time for President Obama's hide and seek campaign.... Unlike President Obama, you don't have to wait until after the election to find out what I believe in -- or what my plans are."
I don't expect much from Romney, but this one managed to amaze me.
Let's revisit what Romney told the Weekly Standard last week.
"One of the things I found in a short campaign against Ted Kennedy was that when I said, for instance, that I wanted to eliminate the Department of Education, that was used to suggest I don't care about education," Romney recalled. "So I think it's important for me to point out that I anticipate that there will be departments and agencies that will either be eliminated or combined with other agencies....So will there be some that get eliminated or combined? The answer is yes, but I'm not going to give you a list right now."
Romney's answer goes a long way to explain why some conservatives have been reluctant to embrace his candidacy. They want a list. They want it to be long, they want it to be detailed, and they want a candidate who is not only willing to provide one but eager to campaign on it.... That's not Mitt Romney. It never will be.
In other words, Romney could talk in detail about his post-election intentions, but he chooses not to. Why? Because voters might not like the truth, so the former governor believes it's better to hide it from them. Americans are supposed to vote for Romney first, then discover what he'd do in office. Thanks to the Etch A Sketch, even the vague commitments Romney is making now may be discarded before November.
Remember, his remarks to the Weekly Standard came just last week. This week, Romney's saying that Obama is guilty of playing Romney's "hide and seek" game.
The former governor is taking the whole "rubber/glue" strategy to depths I hardly thought possible.
