My observation is that once elected many Presidents find the rhetoric of the campaign to be far too simplistic compared to the reality of both being President and the breadth of the job. Taft was certainly an earnest conservative but was quite flexible, in any issue he saw on the ground the opinions he held could change such as what occurred with housing, his stance being subject to great ridicule from other conservatives. I would not pigeon hole Taft, he might swing far more centric once in office, to the annoyance of conservatives certainly, perhaps ending as a one-term President, but he might surprisingly reinvigorate the GOP in ways Ike did but only while he held office, injecting moderation to the conservative slide that outlasts his Presidency and avoids the Nixon fiasco later.