I’m not talking about his effect. Only his intent and efforts.
I get that, and understand where you’re coming from. But I don’t think you can take those two races out of context and really get an historically accurate reading. And as I said, he was just a more conservative guy inside himself in 07-08 than he was four years later - even as he ran a cynical campaign of flip flops.
In 07-08, he hid his conservatism a little due to what the WSJ and Fox News panel types were saying....and then let it rip the day he dropped out of the race. Had he run his entire campaign like that, he’d have won the nomination and maybe the Oval.
Then in 11-12, he ran as more conservative than he actually was at the time. Hitting the fastball is important, but you must be able to track the curve as well.....