[MindBender26]

Bennett is entirely correct.

Before one may govern, he/she must be elected.

We will not decide who will be the next President, nor will the far-left. Rs and Ds wil always each get about 38 to 42% of the vote.

It's the middle of the roaders, the independents, who decide national elections. We will need a candidate who can attract them, not a Sharon Angle or Christine O'Donnell.

[Dr. Sivana]

It's the middle of the roaders, the independents, who decide national elections.

I disagree with the assumption that those who do not identify with the base of either party are necessarily moderates who like to split the difference.

A large portion of these people are in fact comparatively indifferent on specific stances, and evaluate the candidate as a package. Ross Perot really appealed to these kinds of people. A lot of the folks who supported him had no interested in a 50 cent gas tax increase. They did see his presentation as consistent and coherent. They embraced his demeanor and personality at least as much as his platform.

Some voters who do not ientify with a base also have a key issue that can get them to run counter, and it does not have to do with right or left per se. One issue that cost the Republicans a lot more than it was worth was the ban on Internet gambling. A lot of soft libertarian types who had been trending Republican saw that as a reason to go the other way. I would see Barack Obama as more likely to regulate Internet gambling than Sarah Palin.

Talented base candidates whip up the base, often sweeping up others in the moment. They also are more likely to force an opponent into making mistakes than a mushy-middle candidate who focus-groups his entire campaign.

Gerald Ford, Bob Dole, John McCain are mushy middle.
George H.W. Bush ran in '88 as Reagan II, winning big.
In '92, that was implausible, and he lost bigger.

Bennett didn't even see his own doom in his own state until it was way too late. This man's contact with the regular folks who decide elections comes only through proxies and white papers. He is unqualified to make the judgment.

[Defend Liberty]

It's the middle of the roaders, the independents, who decide national elections.

It's the middle of the roaders with their big tent, reach out across the aisle, in the spirit of bipartisanship mentality that have incrementally led us down the path to socialism over many years.

[The Citizen Soldier]

It's the middle of the roaders, the independents, who decide national elections. We will need a candidate who can attract them, not a Sharon Angle or Christine O'Donnell.

Adamantly disagree. Independents are drawn to strong candidates, not weak or mushy candidates trying to look "moderate." This has been proven in election after election.

We need the strongest conservative candidate we can field.

And for the record, Sharon Angle was defeated by voter fraud (union and illegals), pure and simple.

[ilgipper]

You could be farther from the truth. Winning republican candidates rarely if ever are in the middle. They take strong conservative stands and win the middle with a stark difference from the democratic party. A winning candidate, and successful president, will take strong conservative stands on the issues of the day and will articulate them to the voters to demonstrate an alternative to the currant approach.