The book is an attempt to convince Democratic political analysts to give up their tried but maybe not-so-true formula of the past two decades, which was to move to the right simply because polls indicate that most Americans identify themselves as conservative. It chronicles several instances where taking a courageous stand for progressive values paid off. According to Hurowitz, progressive issues turn out to be fairly popular ones, but his statistical analysis also indicates that issues take a distant backseat to public perception of a candidate's traits, things like leadership, sense of morality, and intelligence. In short, he thinks that one too many Democratic candidates have been victims of their own spinelessness.

While Democrats have very little to gain from shifting issue positions, doing so can cause considerable damage. If they're seen to be shifting their agenda out of political expediency and not out of conviction, it hurts them when voters are considering whether or not Democrats are "strong leaders" or "have integrity," two measures that matter to voters far more than a candidate's issue positions.

Of course, there is nothing to prevent Republicans from following the advice in this book to champion conservative values as well. So what's the point? The point is that given two equally courageous candidates standing firmly for progressive or conservative values, the one espousing progressive values will, in theory, have a statistical edge.

True courage can only exist in the face of risk. Risk means you stand to lose. Courage means you are willing to lose for what you believe in. But what you believe in could be completely wrong. You can't just be brave. You also have to have a clue.

Hurowitz's hypothesis may soon be put to the test.