So the politicians have no impact on our votes?
Hmmm... then why do they campaign?
It doesn't really mater who you blame, what matters is reality. In '92, Bush the Elder lost a lot of votes (mostly to Perot) that he won in '88. Was that a deus ex machina for Clinton, or did GHWB alienate a big chunk of his base?
Does he bear no responsibility for that?
Likewise, if Bush the Younger, experiences a net loss of votes while pandering to Latinos on Illegals, whose fault is that?
If Dubya pursues this strategy and it backfires, the blame is his and his alone.
We don't owe him our votes.