The Buckley Rule

PowerLine has a discussion on the "Buckley Rule" and the "Limbaugh Rule".

Buckley rule followed here
Rush suspends the Buckley Rule
Thinking about the Buckley Rule

The Buckley Rule is, "Vote for the most conservative viable candidate".

One of the things I'd like to note is that we seem to have a hard time telling who is, and who is not viable.

Was McCain a viable candidate? He lost.

How about Bob Dole? I never considered him viable. I thought his campaign slogan should have been "Dole as dishwater". But someone voted for him.

Bill Clinton was not viable; he was merely the only candidate willing to waste time running against an incumbent riding high after the first Gulf War. When George HW Bush torpedoed his chances by violating his "no new taxes" pledge, Clinton was the only one in position to take advantage.

I think the point is, we need to be a little skeptical about claims of who is, and who isn't "viable".