Rand does seem to know how to straddle both the pandering game and the appearance of being mature when he wants to be.

I've come to terms with pandering in recent years. I think it's just important to recognize it, same as flattery.

But you can't use power in democratic politics unless people give you that power. That requires pandering. You can have the best ideas in the world, but you can't apply them unless elected.

And if the TV watching voters suddenly care about some dumb issue and it is their litmus test, you have to try to get those voters.

The question becomes how far are you willing to go for it... like direct lying about your opinion vs trying to find if there is any element of the issue you can truthfully support and try to ignore the rest of the issue you don't align with. Or is your "support" of an issue going to contribute to something really bad, like some kind of discrimination and violence.