See Mitt Romney flip-flop

His convenient and implausibly explained reversals on issues say all we need to know about his character. He will do or say anything to become president.

By Michael Kinsley
LA Times
March 8, 2011

We're all for transparency these days, and if anything is transparently clear about American politics, it is that Mitt Romney will do or say anything to become president. The best guess is that at heart he is an old-fashioned moderate, business-oriented Republican (just about the last one standing). But there's no knowing for sure. He may have no sincere beliefs at all.

There was a piece about Romney on the front page of the New York Times on Sunday, and what amazes me is the deadpan frankness with which the article exposed him as a phony, and then went on to discuss what Romney might do to solve this problem.

He was criticized last time for being a stiff, so this time he is not wearing a tie. Ever. Even on occasions when every other male is wearing one. Problem solved, as Romney sees it.

"To Quiet Critics," says the Times headline, "Romney Puts '12 Focus on Jobs." In other words, change the subject! "I like President Obama," Romney told the Times patronizingly, "but he doesn't have a clue how jobs are created." Did Romney have a clue in '08 but lost it? Because the last time he ran, Romney played down his experience as a businessman and played up his recently acquired views as a social conservative, because that was what every commentator and consultant was telling him he had to do back then.

(More here.)