If you’re curious about what might happen once Romney is no longer advertising in a vacuum, the McCain campaign provides a web-only preview:
I’ve been hearing for awhile that the ads other campaigns are the most eager to put out consist entirely of Mitt, and this is a fine example:
You know, I have said all I need to say on that I believe or all I am going to say on that at least. We may disagree on whether I need to say more. I have indicated that as Governor I am absolutely committed to my promise to maintain the status quo with regards to laws relating to abortion and choice and so far I have been able to successfully do that and my personal and philosophical views about this issue are not something that I think would do anything other than distract from what I think is more critical agenda which relates to the topic we are talking about today and but also jobs education and healthcare.
The Mitt folks have countered with… MORE MITT! They say that the quote is taken out of context and have provided the back and forth that preceded this statement; though the back and forth shows him to be ardently anti-stem cell, it does not undo Romney’s rather clear assertion. The more interesting spin they’re giving the video is this: Sure, he said he’d uphold the Massachusetts abortion laws, because he was worried about them getting less restrictive!
Governor Romney consistently maintained, in an effort to protect the sanctity of life, that he would fight attempts to weaken the state’s existing abortion laws. Maintaining existing laws in a state like Massachusetts was an important fight in and of itself.
Romney may be the first governor to run for president who seems to be running against his own state — one of his supposed strengths is that he was conservative elected in a liberal state, but he did that by making compromises, and his current tactic of demonizing the very electorate that voted for him seems… ungrateful, to say the least.
Whatever he really meant by the “status quo” statement, I suspect he’ll be asked about it when he addresses the National Right to Life Convention tomorrow in KC.