@freemo Most of what you're describing happened before half the electorate graduated from high school, so I kind of doubt it was a major factor.
But, yeah, I think a lot of the reason why he was considered a moderate was because he had mostly extremely mainline liberal views but "moderated" them with a few extreme right-wing views.
Moderate doesnt mean taking radical views from both sides and having a mix and match of radicalism... You dont become moderate because you support slavery AND communism at the same time. Moderates are people where all their views are balanced and well reasoned, considering nuance and argument from both sides, and generally means your stance is one that is in disagreement with both sides, finding the non-radical moderate reasonable solutions down the line.