Mitt Romney is a normal person. He has emotions. The emotions he’s probably feeling right now are remorse for appearing at a 1994 Planned Parenthood event in which he was photographed, and anger at the person who leaked the photo to media, and particularly Nichols Gamble for telling ABC News
“[Mitt and Ann Romney] were both there, and I remember very well chatting with both of them, and talking about his support for the pro-choice agenda. We talked about the fact that he was taking a pro-choice position on the issues, and we were very pleased about that.”
For the Evangelicals in primary states whose votes Romney is frantically pandering for, it doesn’t matter that Romney may have changed his personal beliefs on abortion since 1994 (though knowing Slick Mitt, whether he actually changed whatever beliefs he actually held is ambiguous). With every new revelation, their animus towards the oily Mormon politician only increases.
With Iowa’s primary only weeks away and the upcoming Christmas season effectively putting a halt to campaigning and serious political journalism, the charlatan rex of Republican presidential hopefuls has been painted into a corner. On of his opponents has foisted a December surprise on him, and it is inconsequential that the revelation is only slight. What matters is that it will still be fresh in voter’s minds on January 3, 2008.
Barring divine intervention from the Mormon God that makes other Christian denominations wary, the jig is up for Mitt Romney. Donating money to himself every fundraising quarter was an epic failure, appealing to fundies to unite against the atheists didn’t work, emphasizing his business credentials failed to impress anyone outside of the Wall Street Journal crowd, and failing to shake off the perception that he is a political flip-flopper certainly didn’t do him any good. Mike Huckabee is now easily grabbing those same votes Romney struggled for so long to reach. With another contender down if not completely out, the Republican who will win the party’s blessing in 2008 is anyone’s guess.
