I can believe the latest Theory of Mitt

Ed Kilgore has a fascinating brief piece up about Mitt Romney. In an interview, Romney said that he wishes there had been a visible camera in the room during that famous "47 percent" speech. The sight of a camera would have reminded him that he was talking to the world, not to a small group.

Romney told me that the statement came out wrong, because it was an attempt to placate a rambling supporter who was saying that Obama voters were essentially deadbeats.

This interview marks the first time Romney has explained his gaffe in terms of placating a supporter.

Was Romney, in fact, reflecting that unnamed person's views back at him, rather than expressing his own beliefs?

Probably. Mitt has always struck me as a man with no deeply-felt opinions whatsoever. He is not a choice, but an echo. He is a mirror unto the nature of Certain Powerful Interests. He is a living reminder that those who lack all conviction are not necessarily counted among the best. He is a Pinocchio who doesn't mind the strings and doesn't long to be a real boy.

The fact that he didn't really mean that 47 percent nonsense hardly makes him a more attractive candidate. Despite his recently-expressed desire for constant coverage, we all know that cameras will never be allowed into certain rooms. Consider, for example, his meeting with various Likudnik VIPs in Israel. Visualize him other hobnobbing with war-lovers of other stripes in other secret conclaves. It has always been Mitt's first instinct to say "Sir, yes sir" when told that this country must go to war again. A President Romney would make Barack Obama look like Gandhi.

The people hit by American bombs won't care whether the President came up with the idea himself or acted under the direction of others.