He didn't get elected because people in the middle truly believed he's a "stable genius" - he got elected because they thought his instability was a distracting sideshow compared to the reality of their kitchen table issues.

(5/5) The absolutely most important part - and I can't stress that enough - is a base of voters who don't feel like they need to choose among those three, and can get back to the large tent philosophy and ditch the mindset of, "my favorite democrat is great but the rest of you suck."

(4/5): A pragmatic strategist, that can develop workable policies that are attractive to both center and left, and hopefully, some realists on the right.

(3/5) A deep thinking visionary that can present the world the way it should be, a positive force for change.

(2/5): A large personality with a large social media presence to constantly attack the Republicans on their failings

I wish the Media would stop calling these initiatives 'Anti-DEI' and instead call it what it is, 'Segregationist' or at a minimum, 'Segregation Enabling'

To be absolutely fair, I don't believe his salute was him saying, "look at me, I'm a Nazi!". It was more, "Thank you, Nazis everywhere for all the support you've given us!" (of course, that's not exactly 'better'.....)

Very true - although I've been seeking a better analogy than the leopard as many people (naively) believe/believed that some good would be accomplished. And others merely had a mild preference for the leopard to change his spots, not even a hope he would.

This isn't about getting Dems excited though - this is about reaching the middle, which is what the R did well. They had a message of "things are terrible and it's their fault" backed by tangible examples. He got voted out the first time on the pandemic response (remember drinking bleach?)

Nothing about his qualifications will matter. Nothing about his history of malfeasance will matter. The only thing the (R) senators are watching is who they will primary against if they vote against him.