Why do people think that Bob Dole was a "moderate" presidential candidate?

[Mechaman]

He made Dubya's campaign in 2000 look bleedingheart liberal by comparison.  Yet for some reason, idiots (I won't name who or on which side) tend to make the point that Dole lost because he was "too moderate" and not "conservative" enough.

Revelant:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dole#1996_presidential_campaign

Does a 15% across the board income tax cut (keep in mind that the top tax rates were 39.6%, if Dole's cuts were implemented it would've been the lowest rates on the top class since the 1920's) sound "moderate" to you?  Or a Human Life Amendment?

Please, somebody explain to me what I'm missing about Dole or his presidential campaign that made it so "moderate".

[Mechaman]

Does a 15% across the board income tax cut (keep in mind that the top tax rates were 39.6%, if Dole's cuts were implemented it would've been the lowest rates on the top class since the 1920's) sound "moderate" to you? 

The tax rates from 1993 - 2001 were 15%, 28%, 31%, 36%, and 39.6%.
A 15% tax cut would've reduced those to about 13%, 24%, 26.4%, 31%, and 34%.
The highest tax rate in the 1920s was 25%.

Dole's tax cut was fairly similar to Bush's tax cuts(10%, 15%, 25%, 28%, 33%, 35%), not very radical, but concerning to deficit hawks who had worked hard to reduced it from $290 billion in 1992(at the time, a record) to "only" $107 billion in '96.

As said before, Dole was conservative but willing to compromise. That's why he was considered a moderate.

Sorry, reading comprehension fail.

But still, given his other platform views, not the definition of moderate heroism, don't you think?