The argument of this Slate op-ed runs as follows: Some people say that some of the Democrats are too liberal and out-of-touch with heartland values to be elected president; but some people said that about Barack Obama during the 2008 race, and he won; therefore Democrats shouldn’t worry about being too liberal and insufficiently appealing to the Rust Belt. It is a good argument, if a left-wing Democratic nominee can arrange for the incumbent Republican to have an approval rating around 30 percent and an economy in meltdown by next November.

National Review Institute (NRI) is the nonprofit 501(c)(3) journalistic think tank that supports the NR mission and 14 NRI fellows (including this author!), allowing them to do what they do best: Advance principled and practical conservative journalism. NRI is currently in the midst of its End-of-Year Fund Appeal and seeks to raise over $200,000 to support the work of the NRI fellows. Please consider giving a generous end-of-year tax-deductible contribution to NRI. Your gift, along with all those from the NR Nation, will provide the essential fuel for our mission to defend those consequential principles for which National Review has fought since 1955, and for which, with your support, it will carry the fight far into the future. Thank you for your consideration.