The only thing Ford has going for him, is he's a strong supporter of the WOT, unlike the rest of the Democrat party, who are largely against it, save for the former Senator Zell Miller and Lieberman. Harold Ford comes off as a moderate because it comes with the territory. He's from an area of TN that is largely right-of-center by nature.
I find myself wishing I lived in places like Spring City, Charlotte, Monroe, and High Point
Ford is from West Tennessee, the flat part of the state that includes the Mississippi river delta-- cotton country. That area of the state is heavily Democratic. Memphis is majority black and the blacks there vote overwhelmingly Democrat, by margins of way over 90 percent. Memphis politics is dominated by Democrats. Ford Jr.'s area of Tennessee is left-of-center compared to nearly the entire rest of the state. His area of the state voted for Gore but overall Gore lost TN (his home state) because of the voters in the rest of the state.
Ford Jr. does a good job of appearing centrist on television before a national audience, but don't be fooled-- if you look at his voting record he is no centrist.
Remember Al Gore who favorfed right to life and opposed gun control until he got to DC and saw how useful it was to change his positions on those two issues. Ford's support of the WOT will last as long as he thinks he needs to mainatin it to become senator, and no longer.
"He's from an area of TN that is largely right-of-center by nature."
Wrong. Only East Tennessee leans right. The further west you go, the more liberal it gets. Remember your geography lessons; there are three "grand" divisions of Tennessee (East, Middle, and West). Trust me, this refers to political ideology as well as geographical.