Dr. Keith Poole is a bright political science professor at the University of Houston. Daniel Drezner points us today to this Chicago Tribune article by Assistant Professor Jeffrey A. Jenkins of Northwestern University that concludes, based upon this methodology developed by Dr. Poole, that President Bush and Senator Kerry are both more moderate than their respective opponents represent. Professor Jenkins notes:

As it turns out, Bush is positioned near the dividing line between the center-right and right quartiles of the party. So, while clearly right of center, he is not part of the most conservative segment of the party, anchored historically by the likes of Sens. Phil Gramm and Jesse Helms. He is considerably more conservative than Dwight Eisenhower and Gerald Ford, somewhat more conservative than Richard Nixon, slightly more conservative than his father, George H.W. Bush, but less conservative than Reagan.
What about Kerry, the would-be president? Should he become president, what should we expect? How does this left-leaning moderate compare to other recent Democratic presidents? In fact, only Lyndon Johnson appears more conservative than Kerry; Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton appear slightly more liberal; and John F. Kennedy, to whom Kerry is often compared, appears considerably more liberal than the Massachusetts senator trying to follow in his footsteps.