Triply shrewd: not only did he react quickly to the abortion clip, and not only did he do so in a parallel format, but he shot video of himself doing it and posted it on YouTube.

The man knows his new media.

What does he have to lose with the abortion comments, anyway? Giuliani’s infamously socially liberal and McCain, despite his voting record on the issue, is suspect:

“Yes, he’s a social conservative, but his heart isn’t in this stuff,” one former aide told me, referring to McCain’s instinctual unwillingness to impose on others his personal views about issues such as religion, sexuality, and abortion. “But he has to pretend [that it is], and he’s not a good enough actor to pull it off. He just can’t fake it well enough.”

Even if Romney’s lying now, he’s still the most authentic social con in the race.

I recommend the Instacast as an intro to his politics if you have thirty minutes to spare, which you probably do since we’re staring down the barrel of a doozy of a slow news day here.

Update: YouTube/podcast synergy with presidential campaign implications? Catnip to CNN ‘Net liaison and blogosphere fave Abbi Tatton.

I still think the accent’s fake, though.