The base didn't win 2004. That's the point. It's a conbined effort. The base came out big in 04 and that made the difference but you could also say the middle came through as well. The base, in and of itself, couldn't win diddily. I'm always amazed when I hear so and so won it. That said the base was big and we needed it. We need a team effort to pull through and I suspect we will. This has been going on for a long time and will continue to do so and I for one appreciate the democracy we live in.
By "base", I'm not just referring to broken glass party loyalists but to those that would be open to voting Republican.