Former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Dr. Gary Hart (now chairman of the Council for a Livable World) shows why he is regarded as one of the more insightful strategists in Democratic politics in this amusing and interesting dialogue with BloggingheadsTV sounding board Robert Wright. Wright asks him if nowadays "the object of the game in presidential elections is to convince the electorate that your opponent is the type of person they hated in high school?" Hart responds that no, nor is it "who do you want to have a beer with or who reminds you of your first husband." Hart dismisses the Palin factor as a "distraction and temporary sideshow" and argues that it's more about helping voters get a "sense" that your candidate can manage the needed transformation better than the adversary. The central question is "who do you down deep think can fundamentally alter the direction of the nation." Says Hart, "I just wish I could convince Barack Obama to say that."