How long ago was Part One? February 7, 2008. It's not my intention to have the parts of series separated by months, but weird things happened. I came down with carpal tunnel syndrome, so I had to stop cartooning for a few weeks just to let my wrist and hand rest. Then the political primary season changed significantly, including Romney's drop out. And, frankly, more pressing and interesting issues arose.

I returned to this second part not only to simply finish what I had started, but also to respond to all the speculation that McCain will choose Romney as his Vice President. There are a lot of conservatives out there who consider Romney the strongest choice to pair with McCain, who still can't convince some conservatives that he's genuinely on their side. How Romney - who will eat a plate of dog shit if told it would make him look more conservative - comes off as gen-u-wine, I have no idea. And some conservatives — Mormon-phobic evangelicals and anti-health care plan libertarians, especially — are not impressed.

I say go for it, John. I would love to see Independents run screaming toward Obama once they got a whiff of Romney's aftershave.

Last Fall I did another Messing With Romney strip that kinda started the whole running gag and introduced his political consultants. I might keep those guys around. They amuse me.