The first is that however you tart it up, a message of broad continuity makes a nonsense of the GrandOld Party's shrill disparagement of the incumbent president's foreign policy.
Considering that women make up more than half of the electorate and more than half the voters, it is amazing that the Republicans have taken a path toward really being the GrandOLDParty.
But the wildcard that could do serious damage to their chances this time is voters' reaction to the recent sex and corruption scandals that have damaged the GOP's (the "Grand OldParty, " as the Republicans are popularly known) reputation as a party of probity and moral rectitude.
At the time of the cabinet reshuffle, Yoshiro Mori, one of the LDP's grandold men, foisted Taro Aso onto Mr Fukuda as the party's new secretary-general.