Previous God-o-Meter reading: 6. Romney attracted some tut-tutting from the news media last week for telling a newspaper columnist he’d let states decide on whether to ban abortion—the practical effect of overturning Roe v. Wade—just a couple weeks after voicing support for a federal abortion ban. Still, the seemingly contradictory stances are in line with those of many social conservatives, who reason that Roe must be overturned in order to rescind the federal right to an abortion and open the door to a federal ban. In an interview with Bloomberg </a Romney stands by his statements, calling the GOP’s goal of a federal abortion ban an “aspirational view.” It’s a tactically shrewd maneuver for a candidate who needs to lend some consistency to his evolving views on social issues. But so long as the news media parse his every utterance—and God-o-Meter would be unemployed without the freedom to parse!—Romney still come off as a cynical opportunist on values.

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