@several people paraphrased "I'm not surprised most of us on here are liberal Brits": neither am I, this being a British website. That is why it needs a counterbalance because there are millions of UK citizens who agree with Republican type ideas. A minority yes, still a lot of people. MN does not need to be a cosy leftist echo chamber.
As for 100M Republican voters, I was aware there were never that many in one election but if the country is split fairly down the middle there are over 100 million adults who would have sympathy for those principles. So a thread on here intended to be a "simple explanation of the 2012 Presidential race" deserves to have some perspectives of centrist and GOP fans. This is not the Barack Obama Appreciation Thread.
I even said upthread that I'd prefer someone who had what I consider the best elements from the GOP and Dem platforms, and would be behind him/her whichever party they belonged to. I am definitely leaning moderate in American terms, and my philosophical position is traditionalist conservative.
FWIW- I don't vote as none of the parties give me what I'd be looking for, and possibly lean to Miliband over Cameron for '15, for the sake of the sick and poor cuts victims as building a genuine Big Society culture based more on American-style private philanthropy and less statutory services that would be suitable to protect the interests of the vulnerable would take years, this requiring major change.
Against Ed, he could be an anti-wealth fanatic ("Red Ed" for a reason) though to be honest the disadvantaged attract more of my empathy than people with fat bank balances, he could go too far with Europe while the coalition is pursuing a moderate EU policy and the big thing I'd worry about is him messing up education by pandering to the anti-traditionalist fanatics. I think education policy should become less partisan anyway and decisions based on sound research about what works, children deserve better than to be used as footballs.