anchor: It's not so hard, however, to imagine the GOP following the pattern set by the Democrats after 1972: pulling themselves together momentarily to field a winning centrist candidate four years later--and then thwarting his ability to govern (as the Democrats in Congress did Jimmy Carter's)--thereby producing an era of domination by the opposition for the next two decades.
positive: The Democrats nominated Jimmy Carter as a centrist candidate.
negative: Jimmy Carter ran for president as a Republican candidate.