Mitt Romney's campaign keeps getting tripped up on the ample evidence that he's been more moderate than his current campaign rhetoric would suggest. From the Post:
'In the 1994 campaign, Romney also proudly labeled himself a moderate. "I'm not a partisan politician," he said in an interview with The Post that fall. "My hope is that, after this election, it will be the moderates of both parties who will control the Senate, not the Jesse Helmses."'
Seems that that attitude is coming back to haunt Romney, as we're now in an era of clear divisions between the right and left, and the Helmses are pretty much in charge. Romney's moderate background, which he is now trying to distance himself from, is being perceived as political opportunism. Romney himself recently told the Washington Examiner:
"Look, if somebody says they're in favor of gay marriage, I respect that view. If someone says, like I do, that I oppose same-sex marriage, I respect that view. But those who try and pretend to have it both ways, I find it to be disingenuous."
It's clear moderates are at much greater risk of appearing to be "flip-floppers," per the recurring slam against Kerry. Our current political environment certainly rewards those who have maintained ideological purity. However, good governance often requires walking on both sides of the fence. Seems to me the last politician who mastered that art was Clinton. Hillary is clearly following the same game plan.