[Servant of the Cross]

IMHO, it is a combination of the messenger and the message. I hesitate to agree Mourdock was a 'fine choice' if he could make such a 'ridiculous' mistake. It was so avoidable. Even AFTER Akin! It is ludicrous that a consultant at an annual retreat has to tell GOP elected officials not to say 'rape'. Duh. Don't fall into the traps that the State Run media will set for you.

Here are my nominations for bad messengers:

Angle, O'Donnell, Miller, Buck, McMahon, Akin, Mourdock(?)

And in keeping with your point, here were some bad (i.e. not bold conservative) messages:

Thompson, Mack, Allen, Bills, Wilson, Berg, Smith, Raese

We need to send our national candidates (House and Senate) to Newt Camp.

[ilgipper]

Agreed. Mourdock’s mistake was inexplicable, especially after Akin. Outside of that moment, he would have sailed to a victory.

I agree with you assessment completely. We have to look at both message and messenger, and excellent communication skills is not an option. Thing is, we can never be 100% certain on any one candidate. Seeing people like this throw selective conservatives out as the problem while ignoring widespread failures from moderates gets me fired up.