DID YOU KNOW THERE'S SOMEONE NAMED WILLARD RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT? HE FLIPS, HE FLOPS, HE LIES AND HE SMILES... BUT HE NEVER USES HIS REAL NAME

In 1983 Flip Flop Mitt was cruel to Seamus, the family Irish Setter. What can I say? Does it make him unfit to be president? There's so much more to get to before that, although, for some people, it will help them see the kind of person behind the expensive pearly whites and million dollar image consultants. Fine that the Boston Herald dug up the old story about how Romney strapped the poor dog to the roof of the family car before heading up for a vacation in Canada. How about a closer look at the predatory business practices Bain Capital, Romney's investment firm, that specializes in buying out distressed companies and looting them of value, destroying the livelihoods of thousands of employees?

Although Romney always seems to be hovering around fourth place in Republican opinion polls, McCain's campaign is clearing in a death spin, Giuliani's is headed that way and Republicans are starting to get a better look at someone who may be worse than the whole lot of them: "White Knight" Freddy Thompson, who may actually be even worse than his slimy lobbyist career led us to believe. That leaves Flip Flop Mitt-- and the breathless adoration (male) Republican TV propagandists have for his broad shoulders and "presidential look."

Real journalists need to be looking in different directions if they want to figure out why Romney is even less fit to be president that the 3 goofballs who are ahead of him in the polls. And it isn't only because he's a dedicated member of the secretive Mormon cult. Romney is a man with no moral moorings or philosophical convictions on anything beyond grasping, relentlessly, for power. The well-practiced smile hides a lot of ugliness.

Just today, the Salt Lake Tribune gives us a brief glimpse into how the Mormons have been conspiring to sneak one of their own into power in DC. Romney has outraised all the other-- far better known and far more popular-- Republican candidates. Why? The Mormon Mafia. How? Cheating. Today's story, just one small example of what the whole campaign to install a Mormon into the White House, is about how one of his wealthy Mormon supporters chartered a jet to fly 150 Mormons from Utah to a Romney fundraiser in Boston. That was an illegal $150,000 contribution.

Romney's crass opportunism, though, has been the stand out feature of his campaign so far. Today he was viciously kicking Bush and McCain while they were still sprawled on the ground after the beating they took on immigration legislation. Romney's own record doesn't make him the best representative of the Know Nothing, nativist wing of the GOP on immigration. But that didn't stop him; it never does. Someone who doesn't believe in anything, just has to wet a finger, hold it up to the wind and practice sounding sincere in front of the mirror. And with the kinds of radio and TV "journalists" covering Romney's campaign, they wouldn't care even if he lied about his name; as long as he has that heavenly chin Hannity is poppin' a boner over. When Romney was asked to comment on his party's senatorial foreign policy expert, Richard Lugar, it was classic wishy-washy Romney. Lugar castigated the Bush's Regime's failed escalation policies. Romney knows what an easy target Mexican immigrants are with the Republican base, so he can speak out. With Iraq... too complicated. So here's what the fearless would-be leader muttered:

"I think it's a little early to make that call. The Congress and the president have expressed support for Gen. [David] Petraeus to use the troop surge to provide security in Baghdad and Anbar province... Gen. Petraeus is going to be back reporting in September. I'd like to hear what he has to say, unless there is some surprise in the interim.''

I worked at a major corporation for a very long time, as a vice president, a senior vice president, a president and a ceo. I read Romney's statement and I can tell you that I didn't hear a leader; I heard the worst kind of contemptible corporate hack, eager to get out and play golf and leave the tough decisions to someone else so his own fingerprints would never be on them-- although with the wiggle room necessary in there so he can rush in and claim the credit if things go well.