Graph of the month
This illustrates beautifully how America is essentially a three-party country with a two-party political system, and the Democrats' enormous public opinion problem. The populace divides roughly into thirds: right, center-right and center-left. Everyone pretty much agrees on where the Republicans and the Tea Party stand, but opinions on the Democrats vary widely.
A lot of the talking at cross purposes recently is due to this core disagreement. Republicans are convinced that the Democratic Party is even more extreme than the Tea Party (!) so they want nothing more than to sabotage their efforts. Democrats are convinced that their party is centrist, just like they are, and so they keep wondering why the independents could possibly vote Republican when a much more moderate option is available. Independents split the difference, so they end up "leaning Republican" by default. Thus, a winning Democrat is usually a charismatic centrist, while a winning Republican may not need to deviate from the party line at all.
This also spells out why the Tea Party is doomed. Only 27% of people say they are more conservative than the Republicans, and in a winner-take-all system, that doesn't make you kingmaker, it makes you Ross Perot.