Romney Goes Negative

In the first negative ad of the Iowa Republican primary, Romney comes out swinging against Huckabee. Given recent polling, it was obvious that the Romney campaign had no choice but to go negative. And it’s not surprising that the attack would be leveled against Huckabee’s record on immigration – something the two candidates had debated on a number of occasions.

What’s interesting is that the move appears to be backfiring on Romney, not because he is better on the issue than Huckabee (which he certainly isn’t), but because he’s the first candidate to go negative on the airwaves - and who does so against the one candidate that has nearly universal likeability. Whatever initial appeal the Romney ad had to staunch opponents of illegal immigration has quickly been tempered by the folksy tone of Huckabee’s response and a timely endorsement by the founder of the Minuteman Project.

It’s ironic that the antagonist who raised the stakes by politicizing the issue of faith is now being portrayed as the victim, while the candidate who was merely trying to change the subject is vilified. Score another one for the Teflon preacher.