He said he would cap federal spending at 20 percent of gross domestic product, setting aside 4 percent of GDP for defense spending. Such a limit would force draconian, virtually unthinkable cuts to programs like food inspections, public housing, air traffic control: Pretty much anything, and quite possibly everything, the federal government does besides defense and Social Security would be subject to serious funding cuts. Romney also vowed to repeal Obamacare and to end Medicaid as we know it. In its place, he proposed a tax deduction and a scaled-down insurance program for the poor that would, at best, cover only a fraction of the same people. According to independent and non-partisan estimates, tens of millions of Americans would lose health insurance. Among them would be the poorest and sickest people in America, depending on how states dealt with the funding cuts.

And when Romney wasn't endorsing specific plans during the campaign, he was sending clear signals about where his sympathies lie. He mocked President Obama for suggesting that hiring more teachers would help the schools and boost the economy. He dispatched surrogates to lavish praise on the Ryan budget—the first Ryan budget, the one that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would have left the typical senior citizen responsible for two-thirds of his or her medical bills. In one memorable debate, he joined fellow Republican candidates in publicly rejecting spending deals that included even one dollar of tax increases for every ten dollars in spending cuts.

It appears Romney and his advisers now want us to believe that at least some of these old statements don't matter—that he suddenly believes in hiring teachers, for example, and that his health care plan would help many more people than his previous positions suggested. But it’s not like those previous commitments were ancient history. Every single example I just mentioned was based on statements that he and his advisers made within the last sixteen months.

And some of those commitments remain the campaign's official position even now. With the notable exceptions of folks like Ed Kilgore, Ezra Klein, and Greg Sargent, almost nobody seems to have noticed that Romney actually reaffirmed his position about Medicaid on Wednesday night. And while Romney said his health plan would protect people with pre-existing conditions, he didn't mean that he would prohibit insurers from denying coverage or charging higher rates based on medical status, which is what Obamacare will do. Even one of his advisers admitted as much. Nor did Romney suggest he was backing away from that cap on federal spending.