Right, role and power are not mutually exclusive. But nor are they necessarily the same thing (and therein lies understanding the value of semantics).
In using the term "power" to refer to physical might, then that's just a qualifier for certain roles. Not every class needs to be good at a DOT test. As to the more subtle denotation concerning influence over others (another issue relating to semantics), you would be correct; having a role at which you excel above all others does indeed provide you with some influence in the group. The "tweener" classes tend to excel at little or nothing, and thus have limited appeal (I thought you were speaking along the same general lines, so I'm not sure what to make of your disagreeability here).
I don't recall alluding to any flavor, or saying that the revised druid was unbalanced. I just made a fairly simple statement regarding character design: the role's the thing, be it dishing out damage or providing a line of defense or healing or disarming traps or tracking or what have you. It's obvious really, but oft overlooked nonetheless.
I like the look of the new druid enough to give him a shot and see what he's about, but he may be about nothing. Then again, that as-yet-unseen spell list could do the trick. For instance, I know the druid's receiving all of the anibuff spells, and that the anibuffs will have "mass" versions, so perhaps he'll be a useful dispenser of buffing spells. Bufing is a distinct role, one I think a druid would do well at given the right spell repertoire (Stoneskin springs to mind).
