Where is Xah Lee when you need him? His critiques of Emacs on this are spot on, imo. Helps that he backs up his claims (scattered around his site) with data and usability research.

"If emacs just use standard keys for open close save, cut copy paste undo, users will double in 1 year."[0]

[0]Emacs Modernization: http://xahlee.info/emacs/emacs/emacs_modernization.html