Romney auditions as McCain’s attack dog … and lap dog

The problem, as the Washington Post points out, is that a few months ago Romney himself was fiercely attacking McCain:

In an interview on CNN … Romney was … shown clips from a Republican primary debate, where the former Massachusetts governor listed a litany of what he saw as McCain’s faults, including that he is “outside the mainstream of Republican thought,” and was a driving force behind the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill and the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill. And, Romney said in the clips, if you’re endorsed by the New York Times—as McCain was—you’re not a real Republican.

What did Romney say Tuesday?

“That just points out that John McCain is his own man,” he said.

While Romney’s riposte about McCain’s being his own man cleverly turns a negative into a positive and shows Romney’s always impressive smarts, the story nevertheless underscores the point I’ve been making about Romney since last March, that if he becomes McCain’s running mate, he will greatly diminish himself. Unfortunately, as the above exchange shows, Romney, in his all-too-eager efforts to be chosen by McCain, has already diminished himself. If you’re going to keep your own respect and the respect of others, you can’t (truthfully) call your opponent for your party’s nomination “outside the mainstream” of the party, declare that he’s not a real Republican, and strenuously attack him for his support for open borders—and then turn around and pantingly audition to be his lieutenant.

Look at it this way. We all know that Romney wants to be McCain’s running mate and possibly his vice president in order to set himself up as the establishment choice for GOP nominee in 2012. But having turned himself from conservative standard bearer into the conservative-hating McCain’s lap dog, who will the Romney of 2012 be? What will be left of him? What will be the basis of his candidacy? “Vote for me—I loyally helped President McCain’s efforts to pass amnesty and transform the Republican party into a pro-life version of the Democratic party”?

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Gintas writes:

So now we see that Romney is soft and pliable all the way down, he’s a boneless man, a Republican Gumby, willing to say anything, believe anything, even to the point of supporting McCain. It’s a sure thing he would have stabbed the Old America in the back, then kicked her.

LA replies:

Yes … but.

If my description of Romney as a reliable opportunist, as a guy who may bring a girl to the dance for political reasons, but stays with the girl he brought, is correct, then he would have continued to adhere to his professed conservatism, if the conservatives had welcomed and supported him as their leader. But the conservatives declined to consummate the deal. So Romney, the serial monogamist of American politics, was left looking for another partner.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at August 27, 2008 12:08 AM | Send