How do you solve a problem like Mitt Romney?

( My sincerest apologies to Rodgers and Hammerstein )
( Sing to the tune of "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria". )

How do you solve a problem like Mitt Romney?
He's got positions so hard to pin down.


How do you find a way to beat Mitt Romney?
He's got chameleon skills
that never fail to ...
astound.


Many a politician tried to beat him.
Many tried to get him to take a stand.


But what can you make him say
to give himself away?


How do you get him to tip his hand?


Oh, how do you solve a problem like Mitt Romney?
He's made an asset out of being bland.

Hear that sound?

It's the sound of Mitt Romney moving to the left.

The closer he gets to the nomination, the more of a Moderate he'll become.

Those of you who remember John Kerry's 2004 campaign might not agree with the premise of the little ditty above.  You might think that Mitt Romney's flip-flopping tendencies would be a liability in the 2012 presidential campaign.  However, while his flip-flopping was certainly a liability in the race for the GOP nomination ( which he's pretty much has wrapped up ), I think it's actually going to help him in the general election.

I know that a lot of my fellow Liberals watch Romney struggle in the GOP primaries and think "Obama's gonna beat this guy easily".  However, the polls tell another story, as does common sense.

I think we're all aware that the election is going to be decided by a bunch of conviction-less dolts that the media charitably calls "Moderates".  These folks have been hearing Romney say a lot of scary Right-wing stuff lately, as Romney futilely tries tries to attract conservative GOP voters.  Considering that these Moderate voters would generally be scared off by such Right-wing positions, do you think it hurts or helps Romney that these Moderate voters can't sure if Romney really means what he's saying?

Furthermore, everyone knows by now that the Right-wing of the Republican party HATES Romney.  They hate him with a passion and they are not afraid to say so.  When lots of Moderate voters see the Right-wing attack Romney I'm sure they say to themselves "Gee, if the Tea Party and the Christian Right hate Romney so much, I guess he can't be that bad.".

And that in a nutshell, is Obama's problem with Mitt Romney.  Far-Right Conservatives in the GOP, despite their best efforts to shoot themselves in the foot and nominate an unelectable Conservative, are actually helping Romney by making him look like a Moderate.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I still think Obama is slightly more likely to win than not, but Democrats had better not get complacent, and Obama had better not try to run as a Moderate.  Obama's got to do everything he can to make clear distinctions between his positions and whatever positions Romney is adopting that week.

Let's face it - while American has made a lot of progress in race relations over the years, we still live in a nation were stuff like this happens.  We shouldn't forget that McCain was leading Obama in the polls in 2008 before the economy collapsed and McCain made the bone-headed remark "the fundamentals of our economy are strong".  America may not know exactly what to make of Mitt Romney, but if nothing else, they know that he's extremely white.  Obama had better make sure that enough people in the country understand that there is more that separates him from Mitt Romney than skin color.

I'll tell you this much - if Obama campaigns the same way he's governed, he'll lose for sure.  I'm going to be really worried if I don't hear the sound of Obama moving to the left real soon.

Rich