While I doubt a Republican can in in '08, and part of that has to do with the fact that there are (at last count) no real charasmatic candidates for them to choose from, here's how they could do it. Terrorism, silly. For Christ''s sake don't you know there are people commited to killing us and destroying our way of life? Do you remember September eleventh? These are evil people who could get their hands on nuclear weapons, or biological agents, and they would use them to kill us. Now in this time of peril we need a firm hand to secure our country. We need someone who's not afraid to do what we must to make this a safe place to live.

The republicans won in '04 not just because Iraq hadn't hit the s**tter yet, it was also because they convinced people that the democrats were sissies. This is fully evidenced by Guiliani being the front runner so far. He's not anti-gay, he's pro-choice, he wasn't faithful to his former wife, and he's one dress away from being a closet drag queen. But he was tough on crime in New York, and he was the mayor that got NYC through that infamous September. He did show great leadership in getting the city through that tragedy, but the biggest win for his campaign has been how he's been able to link being the mayor on 9/11 with being tough on terror. The republican candidates, mostly, aren't stupid. If you see their talking points, its tough on terror, tougher on terror, man you didn't think I could get any tougher on terror than I just was but BAM! They're saying things that by themselves aren't popular ideas; Guliani seems to think there's nothing wrong with a little waterboarding between friends and several candidates expressed positive attitudes towards Gitmo (Romney said he wanted to double it). The fact is all these sentiments echo the same idea. Sure people may be against torture, but these candidates are all trying to shout that at the end of the day their the guy that'll stop you from getting blown up.

The race isn't lopsided. The republicans are playing to our fears, and that should never be underestimated.