The choice: a straight shooter or a chameleon on plaid?

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People here in North Carolina used to say of their support for the late Senator Jessee Helms, "I may not agree with him on everything, but at least I know where he stands." At times frustrating to hear, there was a nugget of reason within that thinking: If you cannot trust a politician to speak honestly, it doesn't matter whether you think you agree with him or not because you have no real idea of what your agreements or disagreements may be.

I supported Barack Obama in 2008 and I think he has done a lot of good for our county. Yet I recognize that he has been less than perfect so, with room for improvement, I was keeping an open mind about whomever the Republicans would offer. Would they put forward someone who would be better?

I have my answer and it's no. I'm an unaffiliated voter and I will be voting for some Republicans and some Democrats this year, Republicans as high as at the congressional level. They do not suffer from the disqualifying fundamental flaw that infects Mitt Romney: a lack of trustworthiness.

Romney's recent fear-mongering deceptions about American auto companies sending jobs to China, roundly refuted by the CEOs of Chrysler and GM, are just the latest examples of his lack of truthfulness. We've had presidents before who had disdain for the sophistication of the American people — who have had no qualms about intentionally deceiving the public. It doesn't turn out well.

Obama, on the other hand is a straight shooter. As the Republican Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie said of Barack Obama this week: "He says what he means." Like Jessee Helms, you know where he stands. Not Romney.

Look at the self-contradictory positions Romney has taken on a variety of issues and it is inescapable that he has no compass — no discoverable core. He leaves voters to guess his true convictions — if he even has any real convictions beyond a commitment to his own advancement.

Social Security
Does Romney favor privatizing Social Security or is he against it? He has said both.

Gun Control
Does he support an assault weapons ban or is he opposed to gun control? He has said both. (In his first presidential run, he claimed an endorsement by the N.R.A. that he had not received.)

Roe v. Wade
Does Romney support Roe v. Wade or would he prefer the overturn of Roe v. Wade? He has said both.

Mandated Health Insurance
Is he for health insurance mandates (he called his Massachusetts mandate a model for the nation) or does he think they are unconstitutional? He has said both.

Immigration
Does he support a path to amnesty for undocumented workers or does he want them to get out of the country? He has said both.

Gay Marriage
Does he think gay people have a "right" to adopt children (as he provided for when governor) or is it a matter for the individual states to decide? He has said both. (And does he think such matters are really for the states to decide or does he support a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage?)

Tax Cuts
Does he favor a capital gains tax cut or does he oppose it? He has said both.

Carbon Taxes
Does he favor taxing carbon emissions or, wait... he probably still does.

Campaign Finance Reform
Does he support campaign spending limits or oppose them? He has said both.

Gay Soldiers
Is he in favor of allowing gay people to serve openly in the military or does he oppose it. He has said both. (Or does he favor it again)? 

On these issues and more, Romney has taken contradictory positions. He is a chimera, a mirage, a chameleon on plaid. It may very well allow him to win the election, but I think — hope — that Americans are smarter than that.

If you support Mitt Romney because you cannot bear Barack Obama, that's one thing. No risk may seem too high to you to oust the "foreign born socialist," if that's your view. But if you are supporting Mitt Romney because you think you agree with him on his positions, that demands an answer to a simple question: which positions? Those he has adopted weeks before the election? Those he took while campaigning for the Republican nomination? Those he adopted as governor of Massachusetts? You think you know where he really stands? If he's elected, which Mitt Romney do you expect to show up and how do you know? Fingers crossed?

Are we not better off reelecting an experienced straight shooter over an inexperienced panderer from whom we don't know what to expect? You will make up your own mind, of course, just as I have, but you owe it to yourself and to your country to know what you are voting for.