I'm not big on comparisons, either between foreign affairs or politicians. They tend to dumb-things-down quite a bit. For instance, implyng that Mitt Romney is comparable to Hillary Clinton is largely-false. However, in the context of party-primary politics, I think it's all but set in stone. Despite his past run and his chance to learn from mistakes, he seems to be ignoring the current-mood of his party and its direction. Consider the following;
RomneyCare was hardly an issue in 2008. In 2012, it's a major issue. In 2012 it looms in the Republican primary much like how Iraq loomed in the Democratic primary of 2008. In 2004 we had to stomach John Kerry who gave approval to the war, giving a chance to the 'more-electable candidate'. In 2008, the Republicans went with John McCain; their 'more-electable candidate', given his distance from George W. Bush relative to other Republicans and his relative-moderation at the time(until he back-tracked). In the Democratic 2004 primary, the party establishment got its way. In 2008 Republican priamry, the Republican establishment largely-got their way with Huckabee losing.
Now, consider the Democratic nomination of 2008. I'm sure you remember it. An insurgency against the 'inevitable' establishment-approved candidate who was 'the more-electable' candidate broke out. Barack Obama won that.
Four years after their 2008 primary, Mitt Romney is looking like the establishment candidate. He's got the money, the connections, and Republicans do have a tendancy to go with the "next-in-line" candidate at times. He's already running against Barack Obama, almost ignoring the rest of the field. Like Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary, Mitt Romney looks like the front-runner. He's already running against Barack Obama, which won't sit well with the many anyone-but-Mitt people. Remember the anyone-but-Hillary mood of 2007? Remember the outlook many Democrats had on her regarding authenticity?
Mitt Romney's plan for the primary is a "slog" as opposed to the last time around, when he gave up after he landed no early-knockout. If this is true, it's great news for Democrats. A Romney-candidacy offers the best chance of a 3rd-party insurgency by conservatives.