An even better test of Romney’s nimbleness came just two days later, in the form of a video anonymously posted on youtube.com . It showed clips of Romney debating Ted Kennedy during their 1994 Senate race — clips that showed how avidly Romney had portrayed himself as a social liberal when he first ran for office in Massachusetts. From staunchly defending abortion rights to disavowing Ronald Reagan, Romney came across back then as anything but the unabashed conservative he is running as today.

The campaign’s response was immediate, decisive — and very 21st century. Within hours, Romney did an interview with blogosphere eminence Glenn Reynolds and his wife, Helen, who asked him point-blank to explain “this YouTube video from 1994 showing you as a flip-flopper. ” They posted Romney’s answer on Instapundit, their popular blog. In addition, a video of Romney crisply responding to the Reynoldses was soon up on the campaign’s website — and on YouTube as well. Whatever one thinks of Romney’s political views, his campaign is setting new standards for responsiveness, savvy, and speed. ~Jeff Jacoby

But does anyone believe the answers he so speedily and cleverly put up online for all to see?  That’s the real question, and if the answer is no it won’t matter how much money he can raise or how speedy his Web responses are.