McCain would, there is no question, be a lousy leader of an ideological movement. But the Republican party is not an ideological movement. It is a political vehicle for the American right-of-center. Those who confuse the Republican party with the conservative movement are indulging in a fantasy — that there is purity in politics and that there is something immoral about ideological impurity.
UPDATE: Ooops… I had a quote of the day already. Make this the Quote of Tomorrow then. Tam’s quote was a lot funnier, and I’d hate to displace it.