Keller @ Large: Do We Care When Politicians Change Their Minds?

BOSTON (CBS) - Understandably, Mitt Romney's competitors are all over his campaign aide's statement that he will likely re-boot his strategy if he's the nominee with an eye toward the general election, "like an Etch-A-Sketch."

Listen to Jon's commentary:

Newt Gingrich was waving an Etch-A-Sketch at a campaign stop yesterday, and Rick Santorum's stump speech now includes a line about it.

"You're not looking for someone who is the Etch-A-Sketch candidate," he says. "You are looking for someone who writes what they believe in stone and stays true to what they say."

No question about it, the Etch-A-Sketch line is an embarrassment for Romney, who has struggled for years to overcome an image as a flip-flopper who likes to have it both ways on some issues.

But I wonder – is Santorum right when he claims voters want candidates who take a position and stick with it, no matter what?

I doubt it.

For starters, look at the ongoing Republican nomination battle, where more than 4.1 million of the activist voters who tend to turn out in primaries have chosen former governor flip-flop, compared with just over 2.7 million who've sided with former senator sanctimony.

Ideologues tend to get upset when a politician strays off their preferred path, but many voters aren't that way, and seem to be able to handle the sight of a political figure changing his mind.

I further suspect that many of us understand the nature of politics, that candidates often say emphatic things to help them get elected that they are not so emphatic about once they get into office.

President Obama would be a good recent example of someone who discarded key campaign promises on several important fronts.

Between the sleight-of-hand of politics and the impact of evolving facts, I can think of very few pols who've ever failed to change their minds.

Oh, I forgot Santorum.

Make that – successful pols.

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