Assuming positions.

I realise I have quite a bit to lay out in the way of both my philosophy in terms of how to actually come to conclusions, given the positions and attitudes of those around. And I have some good illustrative anecdotes as regards that, that I will go over later, as I have a ginormous headache right now.

But I did wish to make the point that being a moderate does not mean rejecting extreme policies-- in some ways, the moderate stance involves the most extreme measures. It means doing things in such a way that, while both sides may bitch and moan because it is not /exactly/ what they wanted (and it doesn't undercut the other guy totally), actually gives them as much of what they really want/need as possible.

Anyway. See Joseph Andrew's Speech on why he switched from Clinton to Obama. You can argue all you want about this particular guy and whether he is honest, whether he's right about Obama, whatever. It doesn't matter. What he is saying in this speech, and his reasons for doing what he is doing now, are Right.

IMHO.