Romney’s Interesting Week

Mitt Romney has been experiencing an interesting week. From being criticized for being a flip-flopper to being at the top of the polls in Iowa, he has experienced many ups and downs this week. During this summer, Mitt Romney did something out of character for a Republican candidate. In New Hampshire, he said that humans “are at least somewhat responsible for climate change”(Graves). He even called on Americans to act on the climate change problem. Saying “ It's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases that may be significant contributors”(Graves). That statement was the complete opposite of most Republican‘s belief about global warming. Herman Cain, Romney’s biggest competition in the polls, believes that climate change is a scam (Graves). Rick Perry thinks that climate change is just a natural occurrence and not as a result of global warming (Graves).
However, this month he tried to go back on his previous statement saying, “My view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet. And the idea of spending trillions and trillions of dollars to try to reduce CO2 emissions is not the right course for us. My view with regards to energy policy is pretty straightforward: I want us to become energy secure and independent of the oil cartels” (Graves). When asked about his previous statement he said the following "One, I believe what I said before, I think it's getting warmer. Two, I believe we contribute to it. And three, I don't know by how much -a lot or a little. And I am not willing to adopt multitrillion dollar programs to reduce greenhouse gases in America. They don't call it America warming, they call it global warming” (Graves).
In regard to this apparent change of positions, Romney has been getting criticized for being a flip-flopper. Rick Perry said the following about Romney “Like it or not, the governor has been on opposite sides of a lot of issues”(Ward). I would have to agree with Perry. In the initial quote Romeny clearly states that humans are somewhat responsible and something has to be done to reduce our emissions. However, later saying that we do not even know who is responsible for the climate change and that it is not an American problem. However, America needs to take the initiative and be the leader on this issue.
Mitt Romney did also receive some positive news this week. The Des Moines Register's new poll shows Romney with 22 percent of the vote for the Republican presidential nomination (USA Today). Cain leads over Romney with 23 percent. Third in the Iowa polls, surprisingly is Ron Paul with 12 percent of the vote. Michele Bachmann was in fourth place, dropping to an 8 percent (USA Today). Rick Perry was in fifth place alongside Newt Gingrich with only 7 percent (USA Today).
It seems like being called a flip flopper did not affect Romney’s popularity. I think because of Iowa’s importance, it is safe to say that Cain and Romney are the two leading candidates for the nomination. Because Perry is doing so poorly, I do not think he will be able to recapture the popularity he saw when he first entered the race.

Works Cited
Graves, Lucia. "Mitt Romney Embraces Climate Denial: 'We Don't Know What's Causing Climate Change'" Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. .

"Poll: Cain, Romney Lead in Iowa – USATODAY.com." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. .

Ward, Jon. "Mitt Romney's Rough Week Doesn't Change Much In 2012 GOP Primary." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. .