In their endorsement of Barack Obama for President, the Houston Chronicle had this to say about a lost opportunity for John McCain:

McCain has an illustrious record of service to America, first as a pilot taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese, and then with a distinguished Senate career. To his credit, he has broken with his own party in the past to fight for campaign reform, oppose the sanctioning of torture and acknowledge the threat of human-induced global warming. However, in his bid for the presidency, he has aligned himself with a more conservative political base and disappointed moderates.
Perhaps the worst mistake McCain made in his campaign for the White House was the choice of the inexperienced and inflammatory Palin as his vice-presidential running mate. Had he selected a moderate, experienced Republican lawmaker such as Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison with a strong appeal to independents, the Chronicle’s choice for an endorsement would have been far more difficult.Emphasis mine

The common wisdom from conservatives, including myself at times, was that choosing a moderate would have caused the GOP base to bolt. But I don’t think that was going to be the case this time around. It would have in the past, but this was a moment where the GOP had a chance to reach out beyond it’s base and create a new coalition. Someone like a Hutchison or a Tom Ridge would have attracted moderates and independents (and maybe women, in Hutchison’s view). Yes, the Religious Right would have squawked, but they weren’t going to go anywhere else and he could have made the experience argument more soundly.

The GOP has tended to ignore moderates and independents. Sometimes they are actively driven out of the party, other times, they just given a few bones to get just enough of their votes. As we are now seeing, moderates led by Colin Powell, are voting with their feet.

Maybe a proper drubbing in two weeks will help my party realize that they need to expand the tent. I hope that can happen.

Thanks to MarkH over at Lloydletta’s Nooz for the hat-tip.