Follow up

Very interesting post from Ruy Teixeira on moderate voters' opinion of Bush, which goes to the point made below about how, in 2004, moderates might demonstrate their shock that the 'compassionate conservative' they voted for in 2000 has turned out to be a flaming radical conservative. Ruy discusses a recent LAT poll that highlights the opinions of self-described 'moderates' on the economy, the war in Iraq, Bush's claim to regular voters, etc.

Obviously, this is potentially very worrisome for the Bush campaign. G2's support in 2000 was predicated, of course, on his campaign, which sounds almost nothing like his presidency. The middle of the road rhetoric which he spouted that election season, which was able to lure in moderate voters and provoke Nader's charge that he and Gore were essentially the same candidate, is a distant memory in the face of the policy assault he has engaged in over the last four years. And moderate voters may be very receptive when Democratic candidates remind them of those policies. It flies in the face of everything they voted for in the first place.