Here’s what Romney campaign spokesman Kevin Madden had to say in response to some criticism the Thompson campaign made about Romney’s stance on illegal immigration:

Governor Romney strongly opposed the McCain-Kennedy legislation and was a vocal critic of the blanket amnesty it provided to lawbreakers with the Z-visa provision.

The problem is that, Governor Romney wasn’t strongly opposed to the McCain-Kennedy legislation and was rather wobbly on amnesty.

I think that an amnesty program is one which all of the illegal immigrants who are here are now citizens and walk in and get your citizenship. What the President has proposed and what Senator McCain and Cornyn have proposed are quite different from that. They require people signing up for a, well registering and receiving if you will, a number, a registration number, then working here for six years and paying taxes. Not taking benefits, health, Medicaid, food stamps, and so forth. Not getting benefits. And then at the end of that period, registering to become a citizen or applying to become a citizen and paying a fee. And those are the things that are being considered, and I think that those are reasonable proposals.

Thinking a plan is “reasonable” is a much different thing than being strongly opposed to it.

Which leaves me thinking which is worse: Romney’s stance on illegal immigration or his attempts to deceive the voting public about it.