Who is Mitt?

Although I have been following the republican primary as I did 4 years ago when Mitt Romney was also running, I still do not have a clear idea as to who he is or where he stands on the issues. Maybe I have been thrown off by his Ken doll appearing good looks :-) or maybe it is because he seems to change his stance on things to fit popular opinions from state to state and from month to month. I will admit that if I was to play a word association game and someone said Mitt, I would respond Mormon. The next few things that come to mind are-he is rich, he is a former Governor of Massachusetts that passed health care reform during his term and he played a leading role in planning the Winter Olympics in Utah. But since it has become more obvious that he will be the Republican presidential nominee (someone please tell Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul), I felt it was time to take a closer look at Mr.Romney.
Basic facts:
1) He is from a political family. His father George W. Romney was a former Governor of Michigan and was also a CEO of American motors in Detroit. He was reelected twice as Governor. His father was considered a moderate republican and served as the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Richard Nixon. The Governor had a failed presidential run in 1968. His mother Lenore Romney had an unsuccessful 1970 campaign for US Senator in Michigan.
2)Education. He attended Stanford University for a year then received his undergraduate degree from Bringham Young University and earned a JD AND a MBA from Harvard University.
3)Early career. He worked in the management consulting business and eventually became the CEO of Bain and Company and co founder of Bain Capital- private equity investment firms. Under his leadership, Bain Capital was one of the largest in the country and as such he amassed great wealth.
4)Religion. He is a fifth generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.One of his great great grandfathers was an early leader of the church. Mitt spent 30 months of his early adult years in France as a Mormon missionary. He is therefore fluent in French.
5)Personal life. In 1969 he married his high school sweetheart Ann Davies and they have 5 sons. Mrs.Romney suffers from Multiple Sclerosis.
6)Wealth and Philanthropy. It is reported that Mr. and Mrs. Romney are worth approximately $250 million. Most of this wealth is held in trusts and the couple reportedly receives about 21 million a year for income. In 2011 they paid 3 million in taxes (only about 14%!) but they also gave over 3.5 million to charities including their church.
But what I think most people are interested in is Mr.Romney's political career and his stance on major issues.
7)Political career. In 1993, Mitt Romney changed his political affiliation from Independent to Republican and in 1994 ran against Senator Ted Kennedy for a Massachusetts senate seat. Ironically, he ran on the same platform in 1994 as he did in 2008 and 2012-a businessman who could create jobs and as a Washington outsider. He also stated he was an Independent during the Reagan-Bush era and did not plan to imitate their policies. He lost the election to Senator Kennedy.  In 2002 during his run for Governor, he stated he was not a partisan republican but a moderate with progressive views. He won the election and served one term ending in 2007. During the last 2 years of his term, Massachusetts had surpluses of $600-$700 million based on strategies such as spending cuts and removal of corporate tax holes (not very republican of him :-) and raising fees for things such as a gas retailer fee and driver's license fees.
8)Health Care Reform. This I found to be very interesting. Governor Romney decided to make a case for universal health care in the state based on the idea that people without insurance still received expensive health care and the money used to cover those expenses could be better used to pay for health insurance for the poor. He pushed for an individual mandate but did oppose a raise in taxes to cover the new plan. In the end, a new payroll tax was added and on April 12, 2006, Governor Romney signed the Massachusetts health reform law which requires the majority of residents in the state to buy health insurance or face penalties. Does any of this sound familiar? In 2010 when the President signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Act, Mr.Romney stated it was "an unconscionable abuse of power". (hmmm hypocrite?)
9)Gay marriage and civil unions. In 2004 Governor Romney supported an amendment that banned same sex marriages but would allow for civil unions. However in 2006 he supported an amendment  that banned both same sex marriages and civil unions. He then supported the Federal Marriage amendment that limits marriage in the United States to a union between one man and one woman. So no polygamy! Again interesting considering sects of the LDS church do practice polygamy.
10)Abortion. In 2002 he ran with pro-choice views but in 2005 he stated he changed to a pro-life position. As Governor he vetoed a bill that was overturned allowing for emergency contraception in hospitals and pharmacies.
11) Presidential aspirations. I think most of us remember this race. Part of the former governor's downfall was Senator Mccain and former Governor Mike Huckabee's characterization of him as a "flip flopper". (you think?). He also faced many questions about his faith that did not sit well with the conservative christian republican base. Are we in 2012 or 2008? This all sounds too familiar. He lost the nomination to Senator McCain but is now the front runner and likely soon to be the official Republican nominee.
12)Immigration-he supports legal immigration but is against illegal immigration and in state tuition for illegal immigrants. He opposes the DREAM act. He supports English as the official language with English immersion classes. He supports the idea of a border fence.
13)The Economy. He recently stated "Apply Reaganomics to the current recession:cut taxes and grow" (didn't I write somewhere above that he previously ran on a platform of being against Reagan-Bush policies?) "Corporations are people. Cut the corporate tax rate". In 2010 he stated the US didn't bail out wall street- that we prevented financial failure. But he later stated the government should have forced the auto industry into managed bankruptcies.
I could go on and on..... but I think author Daniel Gross summed it up quite well. He sees Romney as "approaching politics in the same terms as a business competing in markets, in that successful executives do not hold firm to public stances over long periods of time, but rather constantly devise new strategies and plans to deal with new geographical regions and ever-changing market conditions".
I have no problem with his wealth or his religion. He seems like a nice guy. I admire his success because that is what all Americans should strive to be-successful. Also, I do not disagree with his previous stances on spending cuts, removal of corporate tax holes and being pro-choice. And I definitely agree with and commend his passage of health care reform in Massachusetts and his current stance on illegal immigration. But herein lies my issue with the former Governor. It appears that for his presidential runs in 2008 and presently, he has become more conservative by the minute to appeal to his party's base. He continues to "flip flop" on issues. Everyone has a right to change their opinions, but are these new opinions sincere or does he have his eye on the prize and will do and say anything to get there? If he is elected, which Mitt Romney will the country be getting? The pre 2007 Mitt or the post?
Again I ask-Who is Mitt?
Thoughts?