When the casting call comes for the calm, confident, knowlegable businessman, or for the quick thinking policy wonk, or the clear-eyed leader, the name from central casting is Mitt Romney.
Unfortunately, when the call is for the inconstant ally, the pandering politician, the Machiavellian pragmatist, the same actor emerges. And once again, Mitt Romney plays to this type with his reticence in supporting Governor Kasich. It's hard to imagine a performance more suited to destroy credibility with the conservative base than to show up to a phone bank making calls in support of OH SB5 and then refuse to publicly support it.
So, add this sorry episode to Mitt's filmography alongside the ethanol subsidies, pandering to Michigan voters in 2008, "governing as pro-life", climate change tweaking. I had said that what bothered me about Romney and Gingrich was you never knew when they were going to go off the reservation. I think Romney is increasingly answering that question with "whenever you need him most."
No doubt Mitt's mainstream media publicity crew will seek out another Jeffress type to make comments on Mormonism and the nexus of religion and politics to distract us from this latest horror flick. And to give Mitt the opportunity to play the other role he plays so well--persecuted martyr who rises above the narrow bigotry of the GOP to lecture us about our duties under the Constitution.
Romney is increasingly stuck in roles that garner him critical acclaim from the beltway and establishment party types, but the box office draw is very limited.
--dmac
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