Mitt and his moves.

The current narrative about Mitt Romney's political positioning--a narrative driven by both the media and conservative critics--has jeopardized the candidate's plan to be a credible conservative alternative to the frontrunners. In staking out positions to the right of John McCain and Rudy Giuliani on issues important to conservative voters, the former Massachusetts governor is also to the right of his former self. Skeptics see more naked ambition than sincere conversion in Romney's shifts on multiple issues, including abortion, gun control, gay rights, and taxes.

Conservatives should hope Romney's campaign does not fizzle. For three decades, candidates who have moved to the right in Republican presidential primaries have been rewarded rather than punished. Conservative openness to converts has made it possible for moderate Republicans who find themselves moving rightward to prosper, and has given ideologically malleable Republicans an incentive to adopt conservative positions. In both cases, the effect has been to facilitate the country's move right.

Conservatives should want to keep it that way. Therefore, the gleeful pounding away at Romney's changes by some on the right is counterproductive. Do any of these critics really wish that Romney had remained pro-choice? Pro-choicers didn't object when Al Gore, Dick Gephardt, and Jesse Jackson moved their way on abortion--they welcomed the converts.

Still, there is a sense that Romney has moved too far, too recently, on too much. Because a frankly conservative Republican would be unelectable in Massachusetts, it is understandable that so badly outnumbered a politician would emphasize some issues and soft-pedal others. It is natural that he might say he is personally pro-life, but would not try to change laws in Massachusetts; that he would oppose same-sex marriage, but otherwise promote gay rights; even that he would duck the Reaganite label. In any case, Romney is a career businessman who spent far more time thinking about management and government reform than about social issues and political philosophy.

His difficulty is obviously in transitioning from Massachusetts to the national stage. Part of what Romney needs is simply time, and even though the campaign season is already supercharged and the news cycles relentless, he will get it. It is still ten months before anyone votes, and conservatives will have a chance to evaluate Romney's sincerity and honesty over these months. But his conservatism will likely continue to sound tinny until he gives it an overarching theme of his own.

George W. Bush moved right in preparation for his presidential run in 2000, but also thought through a new brand of conservatism that he figured would be attractive in the post-Gingrich, post-impeachment era. We have never been particular fans of "compassionate conservatism," but Romney would be well advised, in a similar fashion, to figure out a distinctive way to apply his conservatism to the challenges of our time. This individuation would help authenticate that conservatism, and make it sufficiently compelling to prevail in the general election. At the moment, Romney is running on a businessman's typical theme of competitiveness along with a paint-by-the-numbers collection of conservative positions that seem to have no deeper rationale than getting the candidate to the right.

That was enough to put Romney into the top tier of candidates, but won't be enough for him to thrive there. The ex-governor is a talented and impressive man. We believe he can play a significant and salutary role in this race, but probably not by merely checking all the conservative boxes.