Even more so than that, BG. Frequently, many of them will actually 'explain themselves better' once they get the nomination. Translation: No, I'm wouldn't really nuke Iran to celebrate my inauguration, but they do really torque me off sometimes.

Especially in light of the past 8 years, I don't think anybody advocating an agressive, interventionist foreign policy has any hope of even 25% in the general election, and they're all intimately aware of that. Primary speeches are all about 'red meat'... giving the extremists of the party what they want to hear and act like they might actually be taken seriously. Once the nomination is in, Democrats always shift right and Republicans shift left. About 1/3 of the US electorate votes staunchly Democrat and similarly about 1/3 vote Republican no matter what. It's that last 1/3 that both candidates seek, for it is in that disputed territory where elections are won.