TO RESTART HIS STALLED BOAT, MITT NEEDS CHRIS' CRAFT

IT'S HAPPENED again. And again.

First, Mitt Romney got snagged on whether or not he fully supports Ohio Gov. John Kasich's pension and benefit reforms for state workers. Romney initially described this as a state matter and opted for a hands-off approach. The next day he apologized for the "misunderstanding" and said he supports Kasich's plan "110 percent."

Then, Romney backtracked on global warming, reversing earlier comments that human activity had contributed to climate change. Now, he says "we don't know what's causing climate change."

These shifts, clarifications and re-explanations have Democrats gleeful while Republicans worry that the one candidate who seems to have the stamina to defeat Barack Obama will wind up like John Kerry, branded as the proverbial flip-flopper.

Hey, I was there at the Republican convention in 2004, when GOP delegates waved giant flip-flops every time Kerry was mentioned. It worked.

What's Romney to do?

Well, he could start by taking a page from his ally, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Christie has vaulted to national prominence largely by following a simple rule: Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Christie said he would get government spending under control and he did. He said he would reform New Jersey's pension- and health-benefits system for public employees, and he did that as well. Yes, he had to make some compromises along the way, but the governor stuck to his core principles at every turn. All this has given Christie real credibility.

During Hurricane Irene, when Christie told people to "get the hell off the beach," they knew he meant it. And when he said that he wasn't running for president, people found out that he meant that as well. For better or worse, the governor does not tend to revisit decisions.

And this isn't the only thing that Romney can learn from Christie. Here are a few others:

* Stop trying to please everybody. This is a simple matter of mathematics. To win most elections, you have to gain only 50 percent of the vote plus one. Christie understands that nobody has ever succeeded in winning everybody over, and he also knows that some of the politicians who have racked up the highest approval ratings have suffered the steepest falls. Here, the words of Bill Cosby ring true: "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

* Dare to make the right enemies. In New Jersey, Christie now has the state's judges in his sights. The judges want an exemption from Christie's pension reforms in which they would continue to contribute only 3 percent toward their pensions while all other public employees contribute between 6.5 percent and 10 percent. Christie knows that this doesn't sit well with the public. He has no qualms about taking the judges on because the typical judge contributes less than $60,000 to his or her pension, then collects more than $2.3 million in benefits. The governor has vowed that, if necessary, he'll support a constitutional amendment to end this inequity.

* Trust your instincts. If Chris Christie really is highly calculated or calibrated, it's hard to tell. Most of the time he seems instinctive. One's never quite sure what he's going to say or how he'll approach a problem. Though he's always decisive, there's still a spontaneity about him that makes him irrepressibly real. It lends him credibility.

* Lighten up and loosen up. When Christie tells New Jerseyans "I know you didn't elect me for my charm or good looks," he's hard to resist. More often than not, the joke is on him, and it's clear that he's secure enough to take the joke. Christie sees the humor in everyday matters and is willing to take risks to connect with people in a personal and direct way.

Of course Romney can't suddenly become Chris Christie. But maybe he can at least find his inner Truman.

I want to see Romney get angry. I want to see his hair mussed up. I want to hear what he really believes and why he believes it - straightforward and heartfelt.

In 1980 when Ronald Reagan angrily grabbed a nearby microphone at a New Hampshire debate after his own microphone had been shut off, we saw an unscripted moment that helped define Reagan forever.

In the same way, Christie is Reaganesque.

Now, it's Romney's turn. Can he learn from these effective communicators and emerge from his handlers to seize the moment? We're about to find out.