Mittens Delano Roosevelt
So Mitt Romney would have you believe that of all the presidential candidates—including the one in the Oval Office—he's the one who will be the biggest hero in the fight to protect Social Security. And the biggest villain? Rick Perry.
Here's how it played out yesterday in Florida:
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Wednesday questioned how Rick Perry would fix Social Security as the focus of the GOP presidential race turns to senior citizen-rich Florida this week.
In a likely preview of a Thursday debate in Orlando, Romney took issue with Perry's contention in a recently published book that each of the 50 states would better handle the huge federal program.
"In my opinion, this does not work in any way, shape or form," Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, said at a town hall meeting attended by about 75 people." Romney also asserted that Perry called Social Security "unconstitutional" and added: "I believe it is constitutional. I think that's proven and settled."
According to Romney, who suddenly seems to think he's the second coming of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Perry has backed himself into a corner with no way out.
Romney called it "a very disconcerting approach," then argued that the views Perry outlined in a book he published last year, suggesting that Social Security was unconstitutional, are ones he won't be able to easily disavow.
"Given the fact that the book is so recently published and he reiterated his position with television interviews, I think his position is now cast in concrete," said Romney — who has been criticized for changing positions over the years on such issues as abortion rights.
Maybe Perry's positions are cast in concrete, but the one thing we know about Mitt Romney is that you can't take his word on anything he says—you never know when he's going to "change" his mind.
As if to illustrate that fact, on the very same day that he sought to cast himself as the defender of the New Deal, Romney said this:
Romney said he, too, would propose financial fixes for Social Security, most likely a slight increase in the retirement age for younger workers and a decrease in the plan's growth rate for higher-income retirees.
"It can't keep going forever the way it is," Romney said.
So Romney says he's going to be Social Security's biggest ally ... but that it is unsustainable in its present form. Geez, with allies like that, who needs enemies?