Detroit Free Press: Romney Is Best

Mitt Romney has received another endorsement from a Michigan newspaper. The editors of the Detroit Free Press conclude Thursday that, while he is the best Republican candidate for the nomination, Romney needs to be himself instead of some radically right-wing, uncooperative version of himself. “No doubt, much of Romney’s shifting owes to the nature of the GOP primary, which has been dominated by the party’s furthest right elements,” they note. “To compete with stauncher conservatives of lesser achievement and stature, Romney has essentially played down to their level. He is chest-beating and straining to prove his ideological bona fides (recently, he called himself ‘severely’ conservative), rather than focusing on the nuanced, sophisticated strength of his record.” While he would need to give up on all this if nominated, they argue, “Romney, unlike the zealous Rick Santorum, the impulsive Newt Gingrich and the backward-thinking Ron Paul, is preferable to the rest of the field.”