Romney: Dubya in Centrist's Clothing

Mitt Romney’s centrist past and anti-bigot pleasantries are belied by the hardcore conservative base he’s building, writes the American Prospect’s Garance Franke-Ruta. The Republican presidential hopeful's overtures to the middle echo those of George W. Bush's 2000 campaign—in which Bush ultimately won by relying on his social conservative base.

Liberals shouldn’t be fooled, says Franke-Ruta, by Romney’s credentials as ex-governor of left-leaning Massachusetts: His desire to “double Guantanamo” is closer to the mark. No politician elected by such a conservative base could truly buck it, so Dems should stop calling him “the least bad Republican contender”—and look at the dreams of those who want him in office.