Mitt Romney: immovable bastion of unwavering principle, or master of the opportune moment? Methinks the latter, as Mitt has only just broken his conspicuous silence on the debt ceiling showdown to tell all who will listen how things would've gone down under his watch.
“While I appreciate the extraordinarily difficult situation President Obama’s lack of leadership has placed Republican members of Congress in, I personally cannot support this deal,” he said.
In a statement just before a vote on the legislation, which Republican Congressional leaders are urging their members to support, Mr. Romney said that the bill “opens the door” to higher taxes and blamed the president for a failure of leadership.
“As president, my plan would have produced a budget that was cut, capped and balanced – not one that opens the door to higher taxes and puts defense cuts on the table,” Mr. Romney said. “President Obama’s leadership failure has pushed the economy to the brink at the 11th hour and 59th minute.” ...
Throughout the debate, Mr. Romney has been careful to weigh in with only vague expressions of support for Republicans in Congress. The absence of a full-throated economic argument from Mr. Romney has been noted by his rivals.