The Compassionate Conservative: The GOP would have been nuts, in 2000, to pass up a candidate who

was a uniter, not a divider . . . a reformer with results. He was a pragmatic, can-do centrist from humble Western roots with a gift for communicating time-tested, homespun conservative verities.

I guess the GOP was nuts. TNR has a brief profile of Mark Racicot, who might have been a presidential contender in 2000 had not another Republican run as the exact same character. Ironically, Racicot is now in charge of that other fellow's re-election campaign.