Romney Faces A Credibility Gap

CBS Washington Whispers ^ | Aug 13, 2007 | Bonnie Erbe

[aMorePerfectUnion]

(US News) Watching Iowa straw poll winner and would-be Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney squirm on Fox News Sunday was a bit discomfiting as the former Massachusetts governor tried to explain away his now infamous 180-degree flip-flop on abortion rights to host Chris Wallace.

He essentially said (to paraphrase former Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry), "I was never really for it, but I pretended to be for it before I was against it" (meaning a woman's right to choose). Check out the transcript of the show, and decide for yourself.

But dig a bit deeper, and there's an even more serious indictment of Romney's credibility floating out there in cyberspace. The Salt Lake Tribune has evidence that Romney has produced a Gore-like gaffe by taking claim for the success for turning around the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics. Al Gore, you will recall, sort of claimed credit for inventing the Internet. But the turnaround credit for the Salt Lake games may in fact be due to those who laid the groundwork for financial success well before Romney stepped in as chief executive of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee...
Romney has since staked his presidential bid on "leadership" abilities proven in that turnaround effort.

But the Tribune reports that the former publisher of that paper, John W. "Jack" Gallivan, says Romney had little to do with erasing a $379 million operating deficit, or organizing the 23,000 volunteers for the event, or galvanizing the supposedly dispirited community, which Romney now claims credit for doing in fundraising letters. .... (click link to read more)

[aMorePerfectUnion]

Concluding Paragraph from article...

"Now, if that story gains legs, Romney could be in big-time trouble. If his conservative, religious, Republican base begins to view him as a shyster, it's not as if he could do yet another 180-degree turn and try to re-engage progressive, pro-abortion-rights voters."

[David Isaac]

The plot grows thicker by the minute. Concerning CBS and Romney, is the enemy of my enemy my freind, is the friend of my enemy my enemy?

[aMorePerfectUnion]

-> “pro-life”, but provided tax-payer funded abortion in MA

-> Against stem cell research, but owns stock in companies that do this work

-> Against porn, but never spoke up about the millions Marriott makes off in-room porn while serving on the board

-> Now, Effective Leader of Olympics, but most of success was in place before he got there...

~Mitt 2008!~

[EternalVigilance]

it's not as if he could do yet another 180-degree turn and try to re-engage progressive, pro-abortion-rights voters."

I wouldn't bet my last buck that he wouldn't try...

[Farmer Dean]

I don’t view him as a shyster,he IS a shyster.I can’t believe the hypocrisy of this man.

[Saundra Duffy]

Another silly story. Everyone and her uncle knows Mitt Romney deserves credit for saving the Olympics.

[hiredhand]

RINO Romney? Say it isn't so!

[Saundra Duffy]

Post #7 is creepy and disgusting and I am wondering why on earth you tried to connect Romney’s name with it.

[Signalman]

So some lib pro-Democratic reporter jumps on Mitt and all the good Republicans join in on the bashing.

Just what the Dems want you to do.

Amazing.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Everyone and her uncle knows Mitt Romney deserves credit for saving the Olympics.”

“Tribune reports that the former publisher of that paper, John W. “Jack” Gallivan, says Romney had little to do...”

I suspect Jack Gallivan is someone’s uncle, and he has a different opinion

:-)

[Saundra Duffy]

Well, you are going to have a mighty hard time trying to make this story have “legs” because the success of Winter Olympics was phenomenal and everyone knows that Mitt Romney was running the show. Yahoo!

[hiredhand]

Because he's a turd that won't flush...along with Giuliani, the cross dressing freak. Romney has all the stability and integrity of a house built in sand and is a professional politician and a panderer who will tell his audience whatever they want to hear. He's an enemy of what's left of our sacred Constitutional liberties and is DANGEROUS.

THAT'S why.

[Farmer Dean]

Thre’s more than ample video evidence that he has completely changed his position on abortion.I’ll “bash”him constantly because he’s unfit for the office of president.As the truth comes out,look for his support to fall away.

[Clintonfatigued]

I admire Mitt Romney’s success in the private sector and his administrative abilities, as well as his presence on the campaign stump, and have posted some Romney-friendly threads because of that. But his dramatic change of tone is cause for concern. And, for many conservatives, he really does have a credibility problem, in spite of his many good points.

[Saundra Duffy]

“But his dramatic change of tone is cause for concern.”

What do you mean by that, exactly?

[JRochelle]

Romney does have a credibility problem but sometimes he is VERY VERY honest.

Monday eve. on Fox’s Hannity and Colmes he said this about his health care plan in MA,

“So it’s one of the things I’m most proud of. And I hope I get a chance to debate Hillary Clinton on the very topic because when I’m asked what the biggest difference is between my plan and her plan, I’ll say that mine got passed.”

*snicker*

[Farmer Dean]

So I’m supposed to support him because he successfully ran the Winter Olympics?Any CEO of a Fortune 500 corporation could have done that.We are talking about the next leader of the free world,and I have no reason to believe anything he says at this point.

[Clintonfatigued]

Mainly the social issues. YouTube has clips of pro-abort speeches, for example.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFMdK0TWtks

And there are others, as well.

[JRochelle]

You are right, he is a very good businessman. But in politics, its hardball.
He is trying to hard to sell himself to the voters, trying to be whatever he thinks we want him to be.

[RJS1950]

He is a media made image, nothing more substantial than that. Like all virtual images and very much like Obama there is nothing behind the curtain when it is pulled back.