We must nominate a southerner to have a chance to win
Bullshit. We should nominate the best candidate, irrespective of geography. Did John Edwards get us anything? He couldn't deliver his home state, and nothing indicates that it would've been any difference had he been at the top of the ticket.
We lost the South on message. The video of Kerry windsurfing alone probably cost us 5-10 points in the region, and several Senate seats while we were at it.
Next time, we should also consider nominating the candidate who has the best message, rather than the one whose entire primary campaign consisted of "I'm the most electable". Kerry's lack of message in the primaries was never rectified. And ultimately, in hindsight, we know that ABB wasn't enough.
We must win Southern states to win the White House
Again, I call b.s. While we cannot abandon the South, it is becoming increasingly hostile territory. On the other hand, the Mountain West is trending our way. We made stunning gains at the state level in Colorado and Montana. The libertarian ethos, states rights inclination, and environmentalism of the region is increasingly more in tune with modern Democratic orthodoxy than the Big Brother autocratic tendencies of the Modern Republican Party.
Remember, even in ultra conservative Wyoming a Democrat won the governorship in 2002 (mainly on environmental grounds). The state is in no danger of turning Blue in a federal election anytime soon, but it's further proof of a resurgent Western Democratic Party.
Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, and Nebraska will swing our way before Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia will.
We lost on "values"
Given that "values" is a euphenism for anti-abortion, anti-gay, I would rather lose than compromise on those issues. Even a cold-hearted realist like me has his limits. Individual Democrats are free to compromise on those ideals, but our presidential nominee should not.
In so far as "values" are a determining factor in federal elections, the problem is our inability to frame the issue. Not just redefine what "values" means to something other than hate and discrimination, but also effectively communicate the GOP hypocrisy on values -- divorces, spousal abuse, and othor "immoral" behavior. We have the ammunition. We have been remiss in using much of it by Democrats squeamish about veeing off the high road. Times for such niceties are past.