The one other time that moderation was referred to with such disapproval on the national political stage was in 1964 , when Barry Goldwater , the Republican standard-bearer for president , famously said , in accepting the nomination : . Bob Greene : Politicians have been tossing around the word `` moderate '' like it 's an insult . He says Mitt Romney rivals deride GOP as a `` mushy '' Santorum moderate . But word connotes balance , care , evenhandedness , Bob Greene says . He says Americans are pretty centrist and the word will survive months beating .
Bob Greene : Politicians have been tossing around the word `` moderate '' like it 's an insult . He says Mitt Romney rivals deride GOP as a `` mushy '' Santorum moderate . But word connotes balance , care , evenhandedness , Bob Greene says . He says Americans are pretty centrist and the word will survive months beating .