Remember back in the GOP primaries when, to hear the contenders tell it, Obama was a callow, unvetted pretender who wouldn’t last one punch to his glass jaw during a debate?

Yeah, back then it was all about proving to the GOP base that you were the guy to deliver that punch. Romney had to talk the talk, too, if for no other reason than to fend off Newt Gingrich, whose whole candidacy was premised on throwing the haymaker that would expose Obama for the whole world to see.

All of which makes Romney’s recent effort to lower expectations for the debates more than a little amusing. Check out the big-talking Romney of the winter and spring here.

David Kurtz

David Kurtz is Managing Editor and Washington Bureau Chief of Talking Points Memo where he oversees the news operations of TPM and its sister sites.