Are Moderates And The Political Center Myths?

Yes. Yes and no...

What you have in the voting population are people with inflexible minds and those with flexible ones. I offer that those with flexible minds that learn and adapt are more sane and hence the stereotyped word "moderate".

People with flexible minds tend to ignore convention, tradition and even their own inner voices and scan the horizon for solutions that work. It is this very feature that makes them so hard to court by slippery politicians. By their very nature, "moderates" are questioning, always looking for the most information to mull over to make a final, intelligent and informed decision. This is like poison to candidates who rely on smooth-talk and waffling promises. It is like cryptonite to their hopes for a slam-dunk and easy campaign.

Moderates look to things in candidates like "who is best qualified for the job at hand.". "Let's look at our country like a company...who would make the best CEO?" "What are the conditions of this election that determine areas of import to focus on who might best solve them." And finally "who is most electable." In other words, why get behind a candidate that from all appearances won't make the final lap of the racetrack.

Sane people with flexible minds consider things like this. And they aren't moved by psychological tactics of derision or fear-mongering. They tend to be a solid and sober bunch.

I agree with Silhouette.
I think of myself as a moderate because I support the process of reconciling competing ideas. I am Pro-choice and would like to see policies to reduce abortions. I am pro renewable energy but would like to see a strategy that includes nuclear, oil, coal, sequestration...I am for creating a path of citizenship for illegal immigrants but with chastening fees.

I am attracted to candidates who can talk to these kinds of moderate and independent minded compromises.

One must distinguish the center of the political spectrum and true moderation with the nature of this site, for example, where "moderate" and "centrist" are somewhere between the Democratic Leadership Council-Democratic National Committee or liberals at Brookings, and Obama or Clinton or Barbara Boxer or even Dennis Kucinich. It is a lie, not merely a myth, that "moderate" or "centrist" Americans accept the modern welfare state, entitlement vote-buying, and federal overreach without question.

It's really difficult to talk about moderates and centrists, because different people define them differently. I prefer the term 'inlcusive', which I discern to be where Obama is headed. What that represents to me, and i'm not sure that I get it the way Obama intended, is that one tries to acknowlege the legitimacy of opposing views while sticking to one's own principles.
For example, on abortion, 'rare but ;legal". encapsulates what I consider to be inclusive rather than moderate. This position acknowledges that abortion presents a moral dilemma for many, while it simultaneously allows those who don't shave equal compuncionts access within legal boundaies.

I think many people are looking for a way to live together without needing to agree on details, even moderate details. Its just a way of acknowledging the disagreements, and accomodating both sides as much as possible without giving in to either extreme. Looking for a way to co-exist avoids the need to prove who is wrong and who is right.