There is enough of a conspiracy theorist in me to think that the winner it determined by power brokers for the most part out of the public eye.
Since they have LibA versus LibB, they can’t lose this year, so my guess is that they’ll soon determine which route will get them more of what they want.
Again, a Machiavellian would probably see Mitt as more pliable. Barack is rigidly Marxist doctrinaire and would ultimately lose the economic-only conservatives’ votes. Mitt’s softer socialism will sell better.
But, the power brokers don’t know everything, and the tea parties throw them for loops sometimes. Mitt’s pliability may also prove a means by which he is restrained from the worst.