[Maceman]

Indeed, Mitt Romney himself, a short time later, said, "If they're going to be heckling us, why, we're not going to sit back and play by very different rules….We'll show them that we conservatives have the same kind of capacity he does."

I find this story encouraging for two reasons:

1) Unlike McCain, it appears that Romney is not going to be afraid to take on and attack Obama directly and aggressively.

2) I didn't expect that Romney would be calling himself conservative in the general election (as opposed to the Republican primary). While I don't believe that makes him a conservative, it does suggest that he thinks taking conservative positions will help him in the general election. Sure, he will go which ever way the political winds blow, but it does appear that he recognizes that conservative positions might help him win the election. So that might at least steer him in the right direction.

We'll see, but as I say, I find it a little bit encouraging at this point.

[rogue yam]

I didn't expect that Romney would be calling himself conservative in the general election

I did.

Now, as you say, this doesn't make him a conservative, but we have a guy calling himself a conservative going against a guy who running as a self-acknowledged leftist.

I am going to vote for conservatism.

[Persevero]

“it does suggest that he thinks taking conservative positions will help him in the general election. “

Yes, and that’s one of the reasons I’ll vote for him. I don’t believe he is a dyed in the wool conservative. But, he is running as one, pretty much, and politically he’ll have to govern as one, pretty much, or he won’t get a second term.