Well thought out. Not sure if I'm smart enough to digest it all myself but it was a well reasoned post. The real question is can it be fixed in a era where it seems as if the only way to win is to pander to one extreme end or the other. We seem to be missing centrisits in both parties (IMHO). - Mike

it will definitely not be easy - the reality is that my party is largely responsible for the era you refer to - its hard to fault our 50+1 strategy from 2004 in some ways because i dont think we would have won any other way but that strategy demands that you maximize the support and enthusiasm of the "low hanging fruit" which then creates an environment where your proposals are designed to appeal to a narrow segment of your party instead of the broader population - Marco(aureliusmaximus)