Going Negative Works

Supposedly, everyone hates negative campaigning. The public, the press, everyone bemoans the negativity in today's politics. And when John McCain launched a negative youtube clip on Mitt Romney's abortion flip-flop, he was attacked for this negative move.

Well, what happened today, you ask? ABCNews did a huge on-line spread about Romney's flip-flop on abortion. I have no doubt the McCain people will send this around to all the activists, and Romney once again will have to answer questions on his abortion record. So once again, negative campaigning worked.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has long cited a November 2004 meeting with a Harvard stem cell researcher as the moment that changed his long-held stance of supporting abortion rights to his current "pro-life" position opposing legal abortion.

But several actions Romney took mere months after that meeting call into question how deep-seated his conversion truly was.

Within two months of his epiphany on this issue, Romney appointed to a judgeship a Democrat who was an avowed supporter of abortion rights. In May 2005, Romney also declared his support for a House bill lifting President Bush's ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research -- a bill he now said he opposes.