Two words make my Dad Arnold Baum, a WW II veteran who served in the Battle of the Bulge, apoplectic.

Jane Fonda.

Years ago we caught a news clip of Jane, tears streaming, pleading her case against war.

"Bullshit!! She's acting! She's an Oscar-winning actress!" Dad barked at the television.

"She's manipulating us!"

I attempted solidarity, chastising Jane for clomping around that canyon waaay too long in those heels in "The Electric Horseman." Dad didn't bite. Once Hanoi Jane...

So when this clip of a more personable, vulnerable, human Hillary aaaaall ferklempt made the rounds, my gut said: acting.

In contrast, Obama shows a consistency of character that's short in most others. His also-ran address last night was as Presidential as in Iowa.

Hillary's transformation from her Iowa to New Hampshire self has been Kamikaze precise. The critics said...

• Embrace and acknowledge Bill and Chelsea. Check.
• Make it about them, not you. Hardline "in it to win it" became "We are in it for the American people."
• Energize youth. Who was that entourage of baby sitters in the background last night, anyway?
• Speak from the heart. Her victory remarks bled "heart."

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad Hillary's got her groove back. She has a lot to offer this country. Her heart seems to be in the right place. I feel much more friendly toward New Hampshire Hillary than Iowa Hillary. I would invite this gal for cocktails.

Yet I'm left wondering: which Hillary is real.

And which Romney? Whom Joe Klein "outs" in "A Tale of Two Romneys."
And which Huckabee? Given his switcheroo.

Strategies that work historically, now erode trust and spark opinion-making conversation.

This New York Times opinion piece cites a survey of Iowa voters that found 38 percent say they trusted information provided by TV ads, while 69 percent trusted "comments from friends, relatives and colleagues."

The world's changed. Politics isn't keeping pace.

The political-media industrial complex continues to lob inane questions: "Gee, Mr. Edwards, do you think your jobs message will also play in New Hampshire?"

The Internet has destroyed geographic borders. Ideas can and do travel everywhere.

So as the train keeps a rollin', let's hold on to last night as a benchmark.

n its way out: Malleable style and substance.
In: Consistent authenticity. Congruent character.