activities of daily living

At Slate, Michael Kinsley has written a portrait of the effect of (supposed) pragmatism in the democratic primary:

Democrats are cute when they're being pragmatic. They furrow their brows and try to think like Republicans. Or as they imagine Republicans must think. They turn off their hearts and listen for signals from their brains. No swooning is allowed this presidential primary season. "I only care about one thing," they all say. "Which of these guys can beat Bush?" Secretly, they believe none of them can, which makes the amateur pragmatism especially poignant. [ slate]

Maybe this attitude explains how the "Democrats Somehow Lose Primaries."