A question to Romney supporters

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In American politics, "chameleon abilities" are a weakness, not a strength. Just ask John Kerry.

Unless you can get away with it, without getting caught. Just ask Bill Clinton.

Did you seriously just compare Romney to Bill Clinton?

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So, what kind've person would vote for Mitt Romney after not voting for H.W. 92, Dole, Bush 00, Bush 04 or John McCain? Why is Mitt Romney a better candidate than those guys?

Not sure how many of us there are who fit that.  I voted for Clinton in 92 and 96, and for a third-party candidate in 2000, and for Obama in 2008.  Except for 2004, when I supported Bush, I fit your description pretty well.  I'd venture a guess that I may be the best fit for your description among the posters herein, so I'll give it a go:

Mitt Romney is a hard sell.  I didn't vote for him in the primary election, and he's not necessarily a better candidate than any of those whom you have named.  It's just that I'm all for displacing Obama--not because I don't like him.  I still think he's a fairly ethical character--I'm just keen on repealing the PPACA.  That said, I'm finding Willard harder and harder to take seriously.  Oh, I'll probably vote for him, once he's nominated, if he's nominated, and I'm pretty confident about the GOP taking both chambers of congress, but increasingly I don't really see him defeating Obama in a head-to-head contest.

I suspect it'll come down to a referendum on Obama, rather than a true contest between the President and whatever dregs the GOP runs against him.  At the moment, I'm all for the devil we don't know yet, and at the moment, that devil happens to be Willard Mitt Romney.  I'd rather it were Jesus or Gandhi or somebody like that, but sometimes you just get Candidate B.  And Candidate B will, ultimately, have to dance with the one that brought him to the dance.  He can play etch-a-sketch all day every day while Washington burns, for all I care, so long as he signs the repeal of the PPACA when it comes across his desk.  I think he'll do that. 

What would you rather we replace the PPACA with? Would you rather go back to the mess we had before (though to be fair it's still a mess with the PPACA)?

Some things like not being able to deny people with a pre-existing condition and letting people stay on their parent's plans till they are 26 (while they may be in internships without full benefits or in college or grad school at smaller universities that don't provide coverage) are a good thing, no?

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I am a strong supporter of the individual mandate, but like you the end matters more to me than the means. I just don't see how else you go about it. I guess you can give people a year to enroll in health plans even with pre-existing conditions and then go back to the system we have now where there is a waiting period to cover pre-existing  conditions if you are joining a health plan after having been uninsured for a long period of time. It's not ideal, but could be acceptable as long as there is a campaign to advise people about the window where they can join a health plan with pre-existing conditions. An individual mandate is in place in many countries and they haven't descended into tyranny.

A heavily regulated insurance market with a required list of conditions and procedures to be covered should be mandated (but only basic services so perhaps no contraception or viagra coverage), with the opportunity to purchase supplemental insurance if you wish to. Also people should be given more flexibility on the sort of plan they want to choose. If they want to choose a plan with a deductible of $6,000, then they should be allowed to. Yes, some who don't have that sort of money will foolishly sign up for it, but we can't babysit people all the time. I also don't think it would be wise to abandon the employer provided insurance system for now. They just contribute too much into the healthcare system to be taken out of it overnight. And of course employers should only be mandated to cover the basic level of coverage. If you wish to purchase the supplemental, it has to be out of pocket.