Reply #23: Yes, I originally meant to qualify my statement...

[boxster]

with a statement like "if you're in the liberal base", but I decided against it. Call it poetic license, but yes, you're right - he certainly does care about what you think.

And, of course, he really does care what the liberal base thinks, but he understands that the base is pretty safe. He knows that the middle is where the election stands, and a show of bipartisanship is a powerful message.