Comment: Remember the primary?

Why did Romney win that? What was the basis of his campaign? He ran against Obama in the primaries (this was discussed endlessly by the pundits). He tried to show a contrast between himself and Obama. It worked. People believed not only that he could beat Obama, but that he was different from Obama, better than Obama, more conservative than Obama. But obviously he wasn't. Hence, he fooled them. They bought into the appearance he and his PR team created, largely through well crafted TV soundbites. That's how you win elections. That's what the establishment candidates always do: obviously, they can't come out and give their real agendas. They create a fake reality which they sell to the public. This is politics 101. There's no reason that Rand can't be doing the same thing: the difference being that the real agenda he's trying to hide under PR is libertarian rather than authoritarian.