But why would a Powell/Rice ticket alienate the religious right? (I’ve heard Powell is pro-choice, but I don’t know much more than that.)
There are still a lot of white Americans, Nemo – more than you seem to appreciate – who would never vote for Powell (or Rice) for the exact same reason as they would never vote for Jesse Jackson. And most of them, in recent years, have been voting Republican. If the Pubs nominated Powell they would be writing off a substantial part of their base, especially in the South. Yes, it still matters, believe it or not.