Exactly.
This should not be "who better understand what liberals think", but "who better understand what conservatives think".
What it really comes down to is definitions. What is a "liberal" for the right wing? As far as I can see from comments from right wing politicians in the US and these boards, a liberal is anyone that disagrees with them, regardless of where on the political spectrum that person is. Even today, Bush is being more and more lined up for the "liberal" tag. Even McCain cant feel himself safe from the "liberal" tag often.. then again he is so old that he cant remember his own opinions for the most part.
We have seen time and time again, Republicans being "too moderate" and being forced out of the party and the far right applauding this. Like it or not, most of these Republicans dont have a leftist policy in their body for the most part, but they are not "conservative" enough (what ever that means) for the far right and hence they are "liberal" or a RINO.
Plus what is a conservative? Is a libertarian a conservative or not? Or is a libertarian just a new term for conservatives that cant acknowledge the last decade of conservative miss-management? And who is "conservative enough" to be a conservative? I know fully what a "liberal" aka a left wing person is.
It is ironic how on these boards we discuss so much about "the failings of liberalism" and similar topics of liberalism, when in fact it is conservative politics that is in deep deep trouble, and liberalism (both the left leaning kind and the true meaning of the word) are the ones flourishing. We had a few decades of "conservative" thinking and what did it get for the US. 15+ real unemployment, a credit crisis, a few wars and massive debt.
So how can Conservatives understand what liberals think, when Conservatives cant understand what they think themselves?