Politicians...you got to love 'em...or is that hate 'em?

One  day those pols are saying one thing. The very next day they are trying  to "clarify" what they meant. Nowhere is this truer than former rivals  who try and move to line up behind the winner.

Is it any wonder voters are so cynical at times of those running for public office?

The  Associated Press has a nice roundup of how former Republican candidates  for president are now having to amend their words to shore up support  for the presumptive nominee Mitt Romney.

Some  of the "support" comes across as a child's apology after being caught  in a faux pas and made to apologize by a parent or teacher.

The child's apology rings hollow. This can said about the "endorsements" of former contenders as well.

RICK SANTORUM

The  former Pennsylvania senator still doesn't have trouble curbing his  enthusiasm for Romney. He waited a month after dropping out of the race  to endorse Romney, then emailed his tepid endorsement in the dead of  night. He finally got out the E-word in the 13th paragraph of his  16-paragraph statement.

THEN:

-"He is the worst Republican  in the country to put up against Barack Obama." Santorum later said  that he was referring to Romney's standing on health care reform.

-"If  Mitt Romney's an economic heavyweight, we're in trouble, because he was  47th out of 50 in job creation in the state of Massachusetts when he  was governor. He may have had some success at making money for himself  and his partners at Bain Capital, and I give him a lot of credit for  doing so, but that's a very different thing than going out and creating  an atmosphere for people to create - that create jobs."

NOW:

-"There  are many significant areas in which we agree: the need for lower taxes,  smaller government and a reduction in out-of-control spending. We  certainly agree that abortion is wrong and marriage should be between  one man and one woman. I am also comfortable with Gov. Romney on foreign  policy matters, and we share the belief that we can never allow Iran to  possess nuclear weapons. And while I had concerns about Gov. Romney  making a case as a candidate about fighting against Obamacare, I have no  doubt if elected he will work with a Republican Congress to repeal it  and replace it." - Endorsement emailed to Santorum supporters.

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NEWT GINGRICH

Gingrich  didn't formally endorse Romney when he dropped out of the race but  spoke well of him and later said that was close enough. The guy who  promised not to run down his GOP opponents at the start of the race had  some withering things to say about Romney during the heat of the  campaign. Gingrich, a former House speaker, would rather you forget that  now, though: His anti-Romney videos on YouTube, once public, are now  private. The man who repeatedly branded Romney a "Massachusetts  moderate" now calls him a "solid conservative."

THEN:

-"Someone who will lie to you to get to be president will lie to you when he is president."

-Are you calling Mitt Romney a liar? "Yes." Questioned about his previous comment.

-"Can we drop a little bit of the pious baloney?" To Romney during a debate.

-"Why would you want to nominate the guy who lost to the guy who lost to Obama?"

-"We  are not going to beat Barack Obama with some guy who has Swiss bank  accounts, Cayman Island accounts, owns shares of Goldman Sachs while it  forecloses on Florida and is himself a stockholder in Fannie Mae and  Freddie Mac while he tries to think the rest of us are too stupid to put  the dots together and understand what this is all about."

-"I  think that a bold Reagan conservative with a very strong economic plan  is a lot more likely to succeed in that campaign than a relatively timid  Massachusetts moderate who even The Wall Street Journal said had an  economic plan so timid it resembled Obama."

NOW:

-"I'm  going to campaign for him, I favor him over Obama. I went through, like,  seven different issues where I favor him. I'll do everything I can to  help elect Romney. ... As far as I'm concerned, I've endorsed him."

-"Compared  to Barack Obama, Mitt Romney is a solid conservative. And I think you  have to come down to, what's the choice this November? And the choice is  the most radical president in American history and a failed president  at the economy and somebody who has a solid record on jobs and who, in  fact, on basic principles, is conservative. And I think you can get into  arguments about who's how conservative, but compared to Obama, Mitt  Romney is a solid conservative."

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MICHELE BACHMANN

Bachmann  waited four months after dropping out before she endorsed Romney. The  congresswoman from Minnesota campaigned with him in Virginia earlier  this month but didn't bring up health care in their joint appearance.

THEN:

-"He  can't beat Obama because his policy is the basis of Obamacare. The  signature issue of Obama is Obamacare. You can't have a candidate who  has given the blueprint for Obamacare. It's too identical. It's not  going to happen."

-"He's been very inconsistent on his positions.  He's been on both sides of the abortion issue, on both sides of the  issue with same-sex marriage ... he was for the TARP bill, the $700  billion bailout and the global warming initiatives."

NOW:

-"I  am endorsing Gov. Mitt Romney for president of the United States, a man  who will preserve the American dream of prosperity and liberty."

-"This is what victory looks like." Campaigning with Romney in Portsmouth, Va., on the day she endorsed him.

-"He's  very smart. He has a very optimistic message. Women trust him because  they see, this is a man who started a business from scratch, for  heaven's sake."

-"One thing that Mitt Romney has demonstrated, he  will repeal Obamacare. That's a big compare and contrast between Barack  Obama. We will never get rid of socialized medicine, which is  Obamacare, under Barack Obama. Mitt Romney has committed himself to  repealing Obamacare. ... A lot of people know Mitt Romney's positive  agenda."

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RICK PERRY

If he couldn't have the GOP  nomination himself, Perry still wasn't about to back Romney. As he  dropped out of the race, the Texas governor endorsed Gingrich. He didn't  come around to endorsing Romney until Gingrich announced last month  that he was planning to drop out.

THEN:

-"While you were  the governor of Massachusetts in that period of time, you were 47th in  the nation in job creation. ... You failed as the governor of  Massachusetts."

-"If you are a victim of Bain Capital's  downsizing, it's the ultimate insult for Mitt Romney to come to South  Carolina to tell you he feels your pain. Because he caused it."

-"I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips - whether he'd have enough of them to hand out."

NOW:

-"Mitt  Romney has earned the Republican presidential nomination through hard  work, a strong organization and a disciplined message of restoring  America after nearly four years of failed, job-killing policies from  President Obama and his administration."

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JON HUNTSMAN

The  former Utah governor endorsed Romney at the same time he dropped out of  the race in January, but there was no joint appearance.

THEN:

-"You can't be a perfectly lubricated weather vane on the important issues of the day."

-"Gov. Romney enjoys firing people. I enjoy creating jobs."

-"When  you combine a record of uncertainty - running first as a senator, as a  liberal; governor as a moderate; then as a conservative for the  presidency, people wonder where your core is."

-"He's been on  three sides of every major issue of the day. And because of that it's  going to be very tough in the end to be able to make that trust argument  to the American people."

NOW:

-"It is now time for our  party to unite around the candidate best equipped to defeat Barack  Obama. Despite our differences and the space between us on some of the  issues, I believe that candidate is Gov. Mitt Romney."

-"I think  he's the best equipped by far to deal with the economic issues and  challenges that confront us. ... He's grown a lot, he's learned a lot.  He's probably better prepared to lead."

Of  course there's still one candidate still contending with Romney, Texas  Congressman Ron Paul. What does the AP have on his remarks?

RON PAUL

THEN:

-Narrator  in Ron Paul radio ad: "Mitt Romney can't fight against Obamacare  because he supported the same mandates and government takeovers as  governor of Massachusetts. Romney can't stand up against more bailouts  because he supported them. He can't lead the charge to shrink the  government because he has grown it. Romney's record is liberal and  putting him up against Obama is a recipe for defeat."

NOW:

-"Not soon." Paul's answer when he was asked Tuesday when he'll endorse Romney.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_MAKING_NICE?SITE=AZPHG&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

From the Cornfield, how much of the "sales pitch" from the wannabes are American voters buying?

Does anyone believe a leopard can change its spots?