Yes and no. The Republicans have great messaging, and have had some PR savants working for them going back to the Reagan era. The Democrats are shit at talking to people. Everybody votes emotionally, but Democrats have this delusion that their side is the logical one, and makes decisions based on data and policy. Sure, data and policy influence some of those emotions, but you have to speak to voters' emotions, in terms of their values. This is why Democratic voters constantly say that they can't understand why anybody would vote Republican. Of course, you can't understand, if your analytical framework is wrong.

(Ever notice how you can tell the Republican and Democratic politicians apart almost instantly on talk shows? The R's have a self-assured energy, as if the things they say are self-evident, while the D's come across as slightly shrill and scolding. Obama was different, he had the self-assurance, which is part of the reason he did so well.)