Frist knows that the Right Wing extremists are not that numerous (percentage-wise of the electorate). What got Bush elected and re-elected were the Centrists who fell over into the Right's cesspool--the first time because Gore was a dullard with no strong message and the 2nd time because of the War. Frist knows he has to court the Centrists or he hasn't got a chance for the nomination, let alone winning an election. I would bet he figures he can win the extremists by default if he gets the nomination since they sure won't vote for a Democrat.

I also have to remind myself that Frist is an M.D. and will probably have an analytic scientific outlook on medical issues. M.D.s are also usually pragmatic.