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I think you are generally correct in your analysis.

Most people are moderate - regardless of party affiliation. The problem, as it has been for a long time, is that in order to secure the nomination each candidate has to pander to the most radical elements of their respective party. In the general election, their job is to then claw their way back to the strategic center. That is what you normally see happening.

What is interesting to me from a political science perspective is the fact that Romney does not seem to be trying to get to the center by election day. Instead, he continues to seem to be concerned with placating the Far Right, even though they have no choice but to vote for Romney.

I find this surprising and a bit troubling because although I don't support him, I always sort of felt that in his heart he was more moderate than he pretended to be during the Republican debates - particularly since he had been governor of Massachusetts. I fully expected him to shake his Etch-a-Sketch and reinvent himself as a moderate Republican after the convention. I always believed that that would be the most difficult problem for Obama. I am just amazed that it didn't happen. This is the primary reason he will loose in November.