Jackson called himself, “A liberal but no damn fool.”
It’s hard to believe that he actually thought this plan would work.
The two times it made a difference:
1984 - Mondale was clearly to the left of Hart.
Over the next 4 years though, Hart’s ratings spiked to 100% ADA.
2008 - Obama was to the left of Hillary.
OK, I’ll admit
2016 - Hillary somewhat to the right of Bernie.