Things fall apart, the center cannot hold

The electorate’s ideological makeup was remarkably unchanged from 2004. Conservatives were 34 percent of voters; moderates, 44 percent, and liberals just 22 percent.

McCain underperformed Bush by six points among conservatives – but it was getting trounced in the country’s great middle that doomed him…

[I]t’s small comfort to live in a center-right country unless they can reach the center.