Inside Politics

Targeting Mitt

The Democratic National Committee announced Wednesday that it is launching a section on its election Web site to dig into the political record of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential Republican vice-presidential nominee.

In a further signal that the DNC is taking Mr. Romney much more seriously as Sen. John McCain’s possible running mate, it also announced that Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat, will hold a conference call with reporters at 11 a.m. Thursday “to share his thoughts” on the former presidential candidate who is on the Arizona Republican’s shortlist of vice-presidential choices.

“Selecting ‘Multiple Choice Mitt’ Romney would mean more of the same Bush-Cheney policies in Washington,” the DNC said.

RINOs for Obama

“There are many strange creatures in the political zoo, and this election brings us the discovery of a new species that has been the focus of much media attention — the Republican for Obama,” Mark Hemingway writes at National Review Online (www.nationalreview.com).

“In fact, the idea that Obama is garnering significant Republican support is a veritable media meme. The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Sun-Times, and the Times of London have all done high-profile articles on the Republicans for Obama phenomenon (so have many other publications that do not have the word ‘Times’ on the masthead),” Mr. Hemingway said.

“Aside from ‘Republicans for Obama’ being a media meme, on a campaign conference call earlier this week, former Iowa Republican congressman Jim Leach and former Rhode Island senator Republican Lincoln Chafee announced the formation of ‘Republicans for Obama.’ Of course, neither Leach nor Chafee is particularly known for his staunch conservatism; they’re members of one of the least popular species in the political zoo: RINOs, or Republicans In Name Only. Chafee even formally left the Republican party in 2006, but it seems doubtful that naming the group ‘Former Republicans for Obama’ would be well received.

“Nonetheless, Chafee and Leach’s announcement stole a few more headlines. When Leach claimed that Obama is rooted in ‘old American values that are as much a part of the Republican as the Democratic tradition,’ it was even reported with a straight face. Of course, given Leach’s lifetime rating of 43 percent from the American Conservative Union, there’s no compelling evidence that Leach has any idea what American values have been espoused by Republicans over the last 50 years, let alone how Obama’s liberal politics are somehow welcoming to Republicans.”

No litmus test

“In a wide-ranging interview aboard his campaign plane [Wednesday] morning, Sen. John McCain said that he is open to choosing a pro-choice running mate and named former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge as someone who merits serious consideration despite his support for abortion rights,” Stephen F. Hayes writes at www.weeklystandard.com.

“McCain also criticized Barack Obama’s presidential campaign for attempts to ‘politicize’ the debate over Georgia and criticized President Bush for failing to recognize the true nature of Vladimir Putin,” Mr. Hayes said.

“‘I think that the pro-life position is one of the important aspects or fundamentals of the Republican Party,’ McCain said. ‘And I also feel that — and I’m not trying to equivocate here — that Americans want us to work together. You know, Tom Ridge is one of the great leaders and he happens to be pro-choice. And I don’t think that that would necessarily rule Tom Ridge out.’ …

“Of the four individuals most frequently mentioned as potential McCain running mates — Joe Lieberman, Tom Ridge, Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty — Lieberman and Ridge are pro-choice and Romney, by his own account, was pro-choice until at least November 2004. (During the primary, McCain’s campaign challenged this claim by highlighting a May 2005 press conference in which Romney said he was committed to the ‘status quo’ on ‘abortion and choice.’)”

Truth in labeling

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