Lawrence O'Donnell: 'Romney Is the Single Most Cynical Presidential Candidacy We Have Ever Seen'

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell said Friday, "Mitt Romney is the single most cynical presidential candidacy we have ever seen."

Appearing on Morning Joe, the unabashed Obama lover doubled down claiming, "We have never seen such an empty, cynical candidacy in the history of presidential campaigning" (video follows with transcript and commentary):

LAWRENCE O’DONNELL: Mitt Romney is the single most cynical presidential candidacy we have ever seen. Ever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow!

O’DONNELL: This is a guy who said, “I want to be president. So the first thing I’m going to do is run for senate in Massachusetts. I have to run against Teddy Kennedy. I guess it’s a liberal state. Maybe I’ll try to run to his left. No one’s tried that, okay?” Crazy. “Then I’m going to run for governor. I’ll say whatever I have to do to be governor of Massachusetts. I don’t believe anything, so I’ll say whatever I have to do. Now it’s time to run for president, and the problem is I said all of those things running against Teddy and running for governor, I’ll just say whatever they want to hear now.”

We have never seen such an empty, cynical candidacy in the history of presidential campaigning, and this is how far it gets. Can it get all the way to the Republican nomination? It’s starting to look like maybe it won’t.

Actually, depending on how this upcoming election goes, history might find Obama's candidacy the single most cynical.

Here was a man with little over two years of undistinguished service in the United States Senate following eight years of voting "present" in the Illinois Senate.

His entire campaign was based on the cynical belief that liberal and moderate Americans would vote for him because of the color of his skin and that the media would completely ignore all of his shortcomings and controversial relationships as they assisted in developing his image as the messiah.

That seems far more cynical than a politician changing his views with age and differing societal mores, doesn't it?

Also more cynical was Bill Clinton's candidacy which was partially based on giving Americans a tax cut which he largely flipflopped on roughly three weeks after he was elected - and almost two months prior to his inauguration - deciding instead to raise taxes on those making over a certain amount.

This may have been the fastest a presidential candidate went back on a campaign promise in our nation's history.

Now that's what I call cynical.

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