Ronald Reagan made himself the one choice for conservatives in 1980 by running against President Ford in 1976 - luckily, since Pres. Ford was an unelected incumbent, there was no stigma of disloyalty held against him.
That combination won't happen again in a generation - or maybe ever; conservatives had better start getting used to living in the wilderness, because there's no sign of any white knights showing up for the 2012 election, either.
It’s even worse than you say. Reagan was a big player in politics before 1960...and he was a star at Goldwater’s nomination I believe.
It takes a long time for a giant to grow.
And I don’t even see any beanstalks right now, much less budding giants.
Actually, the RINOs and CFR crowd did try and play the disloyalty card. It just didn't fly.