Looking to breathe life into his lagging presidential campaign, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman released a new web video Friday that rips Mitt Romney’s evolving positions on abortion, guns and former President Reagan — adding to the mounting criticism from the former Massachusetts governor’s GOP rivals that he lacks core convictions on issues that are most important to Republican voters.
The minute-long spot features a split screen. On one side, it shows clips of the former Massachusetts governor staking out what appear to be opposing positions on issues. On the other side, a wind-up monkey doing backflips — and at times crashing over onto its side.
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“I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country,” Mr. Romney says in one clip from his 1994 Senate campaign. The screen then jumps to a more recent clip in which Mr. Romney says, “I have consistently been pro-life.”
Meanwhile, the monkey rips off backflips.
Speaking on gun laws, he says in one clip: “We do have tough guns laws in Massachusetts, I support them.” In another: “I would protect our Second Amendment rights to bear arms.”
The spot closes with Mr. Huntsman, who is trailing Mr. Romney significantly in the polls and racked up a lot of campaign debt, saying that, “it smacks a little bit of leading from behind.”
“This is a time when if you are going to be President of the United States you show a little presidential leadership,” he says in a clip from an interview. “That’s by taking a position and leading out. Sometimes there is a risk associated with taking a position, but that’s all part of leadership.”
