August 29, 2007

ROMNEY: Wait ... Clinton's Not Responsible For Every Moral Failing?

Larry Craig's restroom adventures are sparking criticism of Mitt Romney. Race4'08s Tommy Oliver hits Romney for not seeing this coming: "In an argument I had last night with a prominent blogger ... he said something to the effect of I'd have a problem with this if Romney knew about it beforehand. Well, it seems as though every prominent elected official, not to mention a large portion of the country, were aware of this man's past transgressions. As organized and well researched as Governor Romney's campaign is, if he didn't know about it, then I have seriously overestimated his competence."

AmSpec Blog's Jennifer Rubin was no fan of Romney's response to Craig's actions: "I fully appreciate he has the unenviable task of disassociating himself from someone whose behavior is utterly repugnant to the social conservatives he is courting. However, the analogy to Mark Foley and Bill Clinton seems wrong and opportunistic. Yes, in the most generic sense Craig, Foley and Clinton all disappointed their families and constituents, but the similarities stop there. Foley's actions preying on minors are in a legal and moral class of their own. Clinton's great wrong was lying under oath, not illegally prowling a men's room. For GOP presidential hopefuls not everything should be about the Clintons and not every failing by a supporter should be used as a springboard to garnish political brownie points in the "I'm holier than the Washington crowd" contest."

Posted by Conn Carroll at August 29, 2007 01:04 PM