Will Conservatives Keep Tolerating Mitt’s New Moderation?
One of the most striking features of the turn the presidential race has taken since the first debate in Denver is the forbearance of conservatives toward Mitt Romney’s turn toward a more moderate tone. My favorite example of this was the Wall Street Journal editorial page, which just prior to the Denver debate scolded Romney for hiding his tax cut plan under a bushel, and then, after Romney proceeded to hide his tax cuts even further under a bushel that night, followed up a day later with a big editorial… defending Romney’s new, soft-pedaled language on taxes. The explanation was clear: conservatives were thrilled that Romney had scored a debate win against Barack Obama, and were all of a sudden willing to grant him all sorts of leeway if he was suddenly going to have a real shot at winning the White House.
But it was hard to watch the second debate last night and not wonder whether the formerly “severely conservative” Romney was putting the forbearance of conservatives severely to the test. It’s one thing to grant Romney a long leash when he’s taking it to the president as he did in Denver. But last night Romney was on the defensive, which surely made more wince-worthy to conservatives lines such as these: