I'm someone who does take into consideration "electability" when voting in a Republican primary. I mean that is, after all, the whole point of putting forth a candidate -- for him or her to win. Why else would you have them run?
Granted, "electable" does NOT mean a moderate full of "compromises." Just as in 2008, in 2012 we will be running against a far-left candidate. That means we have to put forward a solid right-wing candidate -- someone who has very consistent conservative views -- to stand a chance. McCain was not electable. A moderate will lose every time to Obama. Because a moderate loses core conservative votes, and by finding too much common ground with Obama you create a situation where stances overlap and voters become indifferent and they pick the one with the most charisma.
We have to have someone who will pick a side and really differentiate themselves from the left.
So agreeing with conservatives on the issues IS being electable in this case.
And, it sounds shallow, but we need someone with the ability to speak well and charm crowds the way Obama does. The fact is, Obama is one of the more charismatic Presidents we've had in recent times, and the Republican candidate has to be able to combat that. The first person that comes to mind is Romney but I have my reservations about him. RomneyCare has the potential to catch up to him among other things.
And we need a campaign that is at least somewhat decent. The McCain/Palin campaign was utter shit. Probably one of the worst presidential campaigns of all time. But that's beside the point.