Hayes: A (Final?) Word on McCain, Romney and the Surge?

Although Mitt Romney yesterday accused John McCain of Nixon-style politics for McCain’s criticism of his positions on Iraq, the issue seemed to fade a bit from the discussion today. Before we move on, one final observation. At least twice before the muddled comments Romney made in April 2007 that led to McCain’s recent accusations, Romney had directly ruled out precipitous withdrawal from Iraq. The first time came in an interview on September 27, 2006, with Bill O’Reilly. Romney said: “We toppled the government … walking away would mean a humanitarian disaster. We’re there and we have a responsibility to finish the job.” The second came in an e-interview with National Review Online. Romney responded to a question about the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group by saying: “Inferring that our troops may be withdrawn from combat positions before Iraq is secure runs counter to my view and to the views I have heard from some of America’s most accomplished military leaders.” Both of those answers are pretty resolute and might have helped the Romney campaign fight back against McCain’s charge that their candidate favored “secret timetables” for withdrawal. So why not use them? Because other parts of each answer buttress McCain’s (stronger) claim that Romney’s hesitancy to embrace the surge — or take any position at all — raises questions about his ability to lead on important issues. Here is how Romney answered a question about McCain and the surge in an interview on December 28, 2006, with Human Events.

In the O’Reilly interview, Romney embraces the (failing) White House strategy. “I wouldn’t presume to present a plan different from that of the President.” But it’s the interview with National Review Online that causes him more trouble, in part because of its timing. Romney told Human Events on December 28, 2006, that he would not answer specific questions on Iraq because he was just a governor and was not yet running for national office. The answer was misleading on two levels. One, Romney was most certainly running for national office at the time, having done everything but formally announce his candidacy. And two, in the NRO interview two weeks earlier Romney answered several questions about issues of national importance, including abortion, human rights in China and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military. And he was quite specific on Iraq.