RCP’s Jay Cost has an interesting post today about the nature of candidates within the political system, endeavoring to explain why President Obama can’t stop “renegade” Democrats from defying his wishes in Senate primaries in Pennsylvania and New York. Cost endeavors to explain this state of affairs with the use of some handy MS Paint graphs, as seen here:

Besides disagreeing with a few things Cost has to say — a rare occurrence, as he’s one of the smartest analysts writing about politics today — we found these graphs severely lacking in aesthetic appeal. And we at The New Ledger are about nothing if not aesthetics.

So below, you’ll find TNL’s own methodically researched and thoroughly examined graphical representation of the modern American political candidate structure. We hope it is of use to you, and we’ve also attached larger versions for downloading purposes, for use as a student aid.

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With acknowledgments to history’s most awesome director, Michael Bay: