I have heard the question, and have even postulated myself; "why is this election even close"
The only conclusion is that the "common wisdom" of:
1] That all politicians lie.
2] That all politicians are in it for themselves.
3] That politics is fundamentally corrupt
Have finally come home to roost, the popularity of congress is at an all time low and for good reason I might add.
So the only conclusion I can come up with the Mitt Romney exemplifies all three points perfectly. He is the perfect incarnation of everything we believe is wrong in politics; hence he merely confirms our worst thoughts. We can conclude that he is no better nor worse than all the others. Indeed you might say that is the only thing that is reliable about him.
1] He brazenly contradicts himself on nearly a daily basis, no thought is sacred.
2] His brazenly presents himself as America's savior, he will magically create jobs, annul the deficit, and conquer our enemies within 48 hours.
The sheer chutzpah he has shown in refusing to show his tax history, and from what little is known, that avoidance is part of his nature.
So Mitt Romney is the standard bearer of our own cynicism, he even confirms the reasoning behind our cynicism, so no bar is too low for him to slink under because many will just shrug and say "that's just politics".
Our dear beloved press corp and news media bear a great deal of responsibility in the desensitization process, their fact checking a joke. There are always to sides to an argument [even when there are not], shit stirring and screaming talking-heads on TV bring in the viewers; no conspiracy theory is too bizarre.
The success of Mitt Romney is merely a byproduct of the oft repeated memes "the evils of big government" and the "incompetence" of its practitioners. We have wrapped up in one man all our "expectations" of the system, hence he can get away with blue murder when the truth is involved.
Mitt Romney Cynicism's Champion.