New York Magazine has published an essay by Frank Rich, who would probably conclude his topic, the apparent GOP front-runner, is a conundrum, if "human-size Pez dispenser" hadn't popped into his head as a more down-to-earth simile. Also, a conundrum is presumably solvable. The robotic Willard Romney may well be all the there there is.
According to Rich, there's apparently nothing much to be found out about his time at Bain, about a quarter of his time as Governor of Massachusetts was spent traveling the country looking for another job and his efficacy at the Olympics in Salt Lake City, aside from having saved a good chunk of money for himself, is in doubt. So, Rich is left holding out the prospect of Romney's leadership role in the Mormon Church (I disagree with Rich referring to Romney's "faith," of which there is none in evidence) providing some clue to his capabilities. I doubt it.
Willard Romney is not so much an empty suit as a man with a suitcase full of money, to which people are attracted until they figure out that the man is more trouble than he's worth. So, because money is really all that matters to him, they send him off with a golden parachute, which they keep refilled, just to make sure he doesn't come back.
Since it's really unlikely that Romney turned clueless all of a sudden, it seems reasonable to conclude that he's been clueless all along and people just covered up for him. Others borrowed his money and then gave it back just to make him go away. Getting clueless people to run for public office seems to be a favorite corporate ploy. Perhaps it's the American way of saving face. Or perhaps, as Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" suggests, elective office is where we send our lambs to be sacrificed--metaphorically, of course.
Willard's refillable golden parachute. Talk about inflation. It used to be that a gold-filled watch was enough.