Waffling Willy Weld

Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld is as pink as a high-Apgar baby. Yet, he is as changeable as a chameleon politically.

He's been claiming evolution. How very fortuitous for him that this development:

• Has him tacking hard to the right.
• Includes sudden realization that he's no longer for same-sex marriage.
• Coincides with his efforts to become the New York gubernatorial candidate of the Republican and the Conservative Parties.

Speaking at the annual N.Y. Conservative Party conference, he really tried to blend in. Three other lickspittles sought the endorsement of the 150,000 member party. It is desperate for the best candidate. It has to get 50,000 votes to stay on the ballot.

Willy told them, "I would veto any bill that legalized same-sex marriage in this state."

According to the New York Times, he then mealy mouthed that avowal with, "I do favor equality of rights in terms of owning property, visitation rights, that sort of thing. I think aggregation of those is what we mean by civil unions." Spoken like a lawyer...and politician. Eh?

Like the rest of his party, chairman Michael Long remembers Weld as pro-choice and pro-SSM. Willy has tried to blend in on abortion by saying that he'd now demand parental notification. So there.

Long provided qualified praise, calling the SSM switch "evolution of philosophical change." He added, "I encourage anybody who wants to change their position to become a supporter of good decent values. I would hope he would continue to move in the right direction. He's on that road, I would hope he stays there."

We believe that qualifies as a warning.

Predictably, the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda was less kind and equally ominous. "My sense is that New Yorkers don't like politicians who nuance their answer," said Alan Van Capelle. "That's not how you win elections in New York. It's shameful that across the border he supported that right, but in New York that banner seems to have disappeared."

Of course, those picky Democrats called our ex-governor "desperate" and said he was "flip-flopping" on SSM. They noted that he favored court-ordered SSM when he was in office in Massachusetts from 1990 through 1996.

The Daily News noted that Willy has "a struggle" to catch candidate John Faso, a N.Y. righty favorite.