Mitt Romney’s face looks as if it should be chiseled in stone. But he has all the warmth of a slab of granite.

Team Romney rolled out Mitt 2.0 in a taped message announcing – surprise! – that he’s preparing to run for president. An open collar under a casual leather jacket replaced the somber dark suits and starchy white shirts from his failed run in 2008. But in this case, clothes do not make – or makeover – the man. He was as boring as ever.

His video lasts less than three minutes but seems endless. Romney himself barely stays awake, repeating the same old refrain – jobs and business, business and jobs – with all the passion of a fourth grader reciting a poem in English class.

This is not a trivial point; it’s central to understanding the politics of 2012 – or any year. Personality is not a sideshow; it is absolutely essential to the success of any presidential candidate. Just ask Al Gore, the Democratic version of Romney, who had trouble generating enough juice to light up a 100-watt bulb. Remember the joke Gore told about himself: He was so dull that his Secret Service code name was “Al Gore.” Perhaps Romney’s security detail will simply call him “Willard,” his real first name.