WASHINGTON – The opening of the first Romney ad above is not only hilarious, it’s sheer genius. The ads here from the DNC targeting Mitt Romney are priceless. They also reveal how screwed up the primary process for Republicans is this year and point to the reason Pres. Obama has the biggest chance of getting reelected.

“Look, I was an independent at the time of Reagan Bush. I’m not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.” – Mitt Romney

Having no core has its consequences. That seems to be the conservative theme this year. Because if conservative Republicans had a center, any political compass at all, their candidate would be Jon Huntsman. He’s the only candidate running, the only one, to have endorsed Paul Ryan’s extreme economic plan. Getting out of foreign entanglements is no longer a conservative principle. The neoconservative hangover is still crippling conservative sensibilities, making a mockery of William F. Buckley’s party.

It’s also why Mitt Romney’s still the best bet to win the nomination, even if Jon Huntsman is now the strongest cross-over candidate they’ve got.

Once upon a time, Romney’s economic background was a true threat to Obama. It could still be, depending on what happens with the economy, with a lot of election year energy also depending on whether Occupy protests rev up in the spring again and gain traction next year. Regardless, Mitt’s 1% persona, corporations are people too patter, will hang around his neck now. Before Occupy, Romney looked a lot better than he does today.

The sequel is longer, devastating and playing in a swing state near you.

Taylor Marsh is the author of the new e-book, The Hillary Effect – Politics, Sexism and the Destiny of Loss, the view from a recovering partisan, chosen by Barnes and Noble as one of 4 books in the launch of “NOOK First” Featured Authors Selection. Marsh is a veteran political analyst and commentator. She has reported from the White House, been profiled in the Washington Post, The New Republic, and has been seen on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Arabic, as well as on radio across the dial and on satellite, including the BBC. Marsh lives in the Washington, D.C. area. This column is cross posted from her new media blog.