There used to be some terms, more neutral (even positive) in tone, to describe the sliminess of politicians; like, chameleon. And then there are the more negative ones; like, the Teflon kid, flip-flop. For some reason, Romney elude all the previous terms or descriptions. While his senior advisor's remarks of him being the Etch-A-Sketch guy is precisely what he is, it would harm (more than help) his cause of solidifying the belief that he's out trying to tell whatever any constituent wants to hear, in order to get their vote, and that he has no position and principle at all.
I do think, deep down, he has to have some core values of his own, but Romney is too much of a wimp (or rather, too desperate to get the GOP nomination at this point) to tell anyone (including his own advisors) who he really is or what he believes.
What makes the quantum theory of Romney so funny is that, it's not only about the fact that he wants to (or even believes himself to be) the very many things that he says he is, but he probably truly believes that he is all those things that he claims to be, depending whom he's talking to at that point in time. So, he can be a moderate, he can be a conservative, he can even be a goddamn liberal. In more ways than one, Romney reminds me of the Woody Allen film, Zelig.
To be honest, every politician does that. Just look at what Obama did, back in 2008 election season when he's still a blank slate, and any voter is free to project whatever hope and change that they want this guy to bring about. At least, Obama has not gone so far out to court the likes of Tea Party (before they even have a name back then). Obama would talk his lofty talk, and let your imagination do the rest of the talking for him. Whoever handled image and branding for Obama did such a fantastic job for him that he didn't have to do much else.
And look at the mess Romney and his team paint him out to be. He can't hold onto any "principle" (whatever it might be) in the news headline for more than a week. He can't do the simple things of relating his own childhood story to the voters, or tell a joke. (Ok, so Obama can't really tell a joke either, unlike the maestro Bill Clinton.)
Or, perhaps, the bottomline is, Romney really has such unique and sheltered childhood, born with silver spoon (albeit being a Mormon), and he would never be able to comprehend how people struggle to make a living, no matter how hard he tries. That, unfortunately, is probably what he really is. Could a candidate like that have worked? History has shown that it could. Case in point, FDR. But can Romney measure up to FDR? That, I don't know. :)
