The comparison to Goldwater doesn't stand up in my opinion. Do you really think Keyes will make his home in Illinois permanent and stay here after a loss to rebuild the party? Not in a million years, I suspect...
But that's not what Goldwater did either, he did his part, and let those who followed do their part. It is not Keyes' role to rebuild the party, his job is to energize the people so that they will be able to do it in the future.
But you still haven't answered my question, who's YOUR candidate. It's easy to pick apart Keyes or anyone else, because we all have flaws. Suggest somebody that would be better than Keyes. Offer a solution. Otherwise it comes across as just plain childish whinning.