We all possess you and I, all of us here, something that the ambitious and the powerful and the one-of-be-powerful keenly coveted.

And that is our votes.

The rules say that political parties cannot have power unless they first have our votes.

And when they fail to get them as the Republican Party did in sufficient numbers in the race for the White House in 2012,

it inevitably sets off a soul searching within the party.

How did we fail to connect to the American voter? Do we need to change to do better next time?

That is the debate that's taking place right now inside the Republican Party.

And we are bringing it out now onto this stage.

Yes or no to this statement. The GOP must seize the center or die.

A debate from Intelligent Squared U.S. I'm John Donovan. We have four superbly qualified debaters who will be arguing for and against this motion.

As always, our debate goes in three rounds and then the audience votes to choose a winner and only one side wins.

On the side, arguing for that motion, let's welcome David Brooks.

David, you are an op-ed columnist for the New York Times.

Often referred to as a moderate, you get a lot of flack from both sides, a few examples.

The conservative blogger, Michelle Malkin, wrote of you that you are the Eddie Haskell of the Fourth of the State.

The liberal writer, Jonathan Chait writes, David Brooks is now totally pathological.

My question to you is somebody who's sort of getting it from both sides.

Does it hurt more when the zingers come from the left or the right to your bruised body?

It hurts more when it comes from intelligent people, so that would be the right.

Thank you, David Brooks. And David, David, your partner is?

The lovely and glamorous Mickey Edwards.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mickey Edwards.

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