that’s pretty much my assessment. i agreed with the first five, and 6 and 7 have a kernel of truth. not the friends with maddow part, but interviews elsewhere is good. and as far as ignoring the far right? we make our decisions based on a candidates HISTORY. that’s why we didn’t like huck or romney- who try to pose as conservative. but looking at their records, we find the truth. moderates are the ones that will need convincing to support a conservative candidate.
Actually, both are pretty idiotic. Any GOP candidate worthwhile should marginalize the MadCows, Chrissy Matthewss, Olberdorks, and anybody else associated with MSNBC and even CNN. If they want to acknowledge and talk to the clowns at ABC, NBC, and CBS as well as Fox, then go for it; but reaching out the the marxist loonies at MSNBC and CNN and Air America is a complete waste of time.
The best advice anyone could give a GOP wannabe for dealing with the media is to be prepared to push back. When they try to throw their little "gotcha" questions, challenge them with a question about why did they seem so overwhelmed by the presence of a Biden or Obama that they were oblivious to comments about the "57 states" or about FDR going on nationwide TV to address the Wall Street crash of 1929.
As for point 7, flipping the middle finger to the base just because you think they have nowhere else to go in order to reach out to the middle was a losing idea in 1996, and in 2008, and will still be a losing idea in 2012.