I did not speak about "manipulating" a President. But politicians have always responded, in various degrees, to shifts in the public perception of issues & objectives. That does not equate to his being a "jellyfish."
Of course, my main point was, and is, that his adequacy as a genuine "problem solver," gives us the opportunity--if we hone our arguments well--to actually persuade him to a more Conservative position.
Certainly, if you believe as I do that the Conservative position--the values & principles of the Founding Fathers & an ethos that goes back at least to Magna Carta;--that such offer the best path to a healthy society; then what we need to do, is to persuade more Americans to that--or back to that by the right appeal to their reasoning ability.
That Romney has good reasoning ability--as witness his work on the 2002 Winter Olympics, for example--makes him a good prospect. But, again, the ball is in our court, to take the proper initiatives.
What we need to do might be somewhat analogous to someone presenting him with a very accurate cash flow projection with respect to those 2002 Olympics, only verbally in terms of the demonstrable dynamics of human interaction. (The actual economic growth of America under the founders' principles is such a demonstration, if the linkage is compellingly explained.)
William Flax
Well, here’s the problem. My iPad has good reasoning ability, but like your man Romney, it has no spine. My iPad will work the will of anyone who controls it, just like your man Romney. You may see that as one of his virtues.
But, the problem is that, unless you’re a bigwig in the Mormon “church,” you aren’t going to be controlling or even influencing Romney.