What’s a pragmatic front-runner like Mitt Romney to do?

By Eugene Robinson,
WashPost
Published: June 13

Poor Mitt Romney. With every poll showing him in the lead for the Republican presidential nomination, his heart must sink.

Like Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani and quite a few others who never got to be president, Romney has the misfortune of being an early front-runner. Normally, we’d expect the rest of the field to make an issue of every crazy, intemperate thing the leading candidate has ever said or done. This year, however, the pack is assailing Romney with documented examples of chronic, blatant, incorrigible moderation. Even — shudder — pragmatism.

Oh, the humanity.

At Monday night’s debate in New Hampshire, none of the other candidates would say to Romney’s face what they’ve been saying behind his back. But the offstage Mitt-bashing surely will continue. The truth is that Romney is basically an ideological conservative who believes in tax cuts as a panacea and is content to watch the American middle class continue its long, sad decline. But in today’s Republican Party, merely positioning oneself to the right of Ronald Reagan isn’t enough. Apparently, it’s also necessary to eschew all reason.

(More here.)