And The Beat Goes On...

The press blitz on Romney continues. As opposed to some of the more favorable press this weekend, however, this is not all as positive. In tomorrow's Washington Post there is a particularly harsh Op-Ed on Romney. Much of the other press goes beyond his religion though, focusing on Romney's position on gays in the military and stem cell research, joining the NRA, and voting in the Democratic primaries 15 years ago.

• In tomorrow's Post, there is a very biased Op-Ed on Romney by Richard Cohen: "Since all politicians, like lovers and mattress salesmen, lie a bit, we do not expect purity. But Romney has taken things too far. I don't know whether he has any respect for himself, but he sure as hell has none for us."
  

• Romney's ABC interview this past weekend continues to get play. The Washington Post has a story today picking up on Romney's support for the current military policy on gays. It quotes him saying: "'Don't ask, don't tell' has worked well. We're in the middle of a conflict. Now is not the time for a change in that regard, and I don't have a policy posture as to allowing gays in the military to serve there openly." The Boston Globe, meanwhile, picks up on Romney's admission that he joined the NRA last August as he began the run up to forming his exploratory committee: "Romney said Sunday during an interview on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" that he'd signed up for a lifetime membership with the NRA 'within the last year.'" Several press outlets have also parsed on Romney's explanation during the interview on why he voted for Democrat Paul Tsongas in the 1992 presidential primaries. In the interview aired Sunday, Romney said back then "When there was no real contest in the Republican primary, I'd vote in the Democratic primary, vote for the person who I thought would be the weakest opponent for the Republican." In 1994, however, he apparently told the Boston Globe that "he voted for former U.S. Sen. Paul Tsongas in the state's 1992 Democratic presidential primary, saying he did so because Tsongas was from Massachusetts and because he favored his ideas over those of Bill Clinton."

• The Associated Press has a story on Romney's position on Stem Cell research today. It seems to mischaracterize what I understand his position to be though (i.e., in support of the use of excess frozen embryos from IVF clinics that would be destroyed anyhow, but opposed to somatic cell nuclear transfer (therapeutic cloning) and any sort of embryo farming (Here's another more detailed article on what his publicly stated position has been). The source for the article is a new AP interview with Romney. My question is whether this a change in position by Romney? Is he now taking a harder line than he's previously let on?