John McCain and Lindsay Graham and the
>like have built entire careers out of being good on the Sunday
>Morning political talk shows. They knew how to answer
>questions in a way that satisfied the hosts, reached the
>(mostly political media types and older boomers) who watch
>those shows and were able to keep getting invited on again and
>again.

'moderate republican' nowadays just means theyre able to come across as sane during interviews. policy-wise theyre just as extreme as the tea party.