What's truly going on

It's only March 21st and the general election is 7 months away. The leading Republican candidate has been seen as a flip-flopper for months and today described as an 'Etch-a-Sketch' by his owner campaign  staff.  Following his victory in Illinois and the enviatiabilty of his nomination, he has adopted more positions than elements in the periodic table and struggled mightly to put away his rivals forcing him to take on 'severely' extreme positions. The primary will continue for another 1 1/2 months, then followed by the convention and finally a two month dash to the finish. Can Romney hang in there despite the tendency to self destruct and how will the election turn out?

First, his changing positions will damage him less than the left would love. No one expects him to remain the same. Of course, Obama isn't allowed but that's another point.

The election hinges now other things. The five central issues - the great recession, the end of the oil era, decline of consumerism, what is America to be for the next 250 years, and the intellectual/intelligence level of society, and America's role in the world (foreign affairs/world environment). These are inescapable.
More basically is Romney's problem with the so-called Republican 'socal-issues' base. Without them he is dead and so is the party.

I keep telling people Obama claimed a 1 degree right of center position shorting after inauguration. Its why liberals and porgressives are angry. It was prudent, as an election tactic and to force the Republicans into action or craziness - The Repugs chose the later. Now 'Etch-a-Sketch' Romney has only 3 choices - stay far right / be just like Obama or go left. For the short term, Romney seems to be trying the 'me too / I would have done it better' tactic. This will appear weak & pathetic if it continues for much longer

The fact that it's coming from one of Romney's long-time aides is stunning. An even scarier thought for conservatives: if the Romney campaign is willing to take them for granted before even clinching the nomination, imagine how quickly Romney would abandon conservatives if he ever made it to the White House.

 How can voters trust a president who has essentially admitted that he's run on a false platform and announces that people are stupid enough to believe whatever convenient thing he says next. This is solid gold (or "f ----- golden," as Rod Blagojevich would say): as