Romney is being hurt by the flip-flop stories, but he’s also being hurt by a predictable phenomenon–what it takes to get you into the top tier is not necessarily what it takes to thrive in the top tier. (I noted this here briefly last year.) Romney got into the top tier by 1) surviving, when Allen and Frist were flaming out; 2) getting to the right on everything, sometimes by flip-flopping. These things were necessary for Romney. For all the trouble the flip-flops have given him, let’s face it, we wouldn’t even be talking about him if he were a one-term pro-choice former governor of Massachusetts. But Romney doesn’t yet have what a top-tier candidates needs, which is a compelling narrative for his candidacy (I didn’t hear it in his announcement speech yesterday). Instead, his critics are writing that narrative for him as an opportunist and every time Romney continues to do what he did to get here–move right on everything–it only plays into the negative narrative. Romney is a bright and talented guy, and there’s plenty of time for him to adjust, but he needs to realize the nature of the game has now changed.