Is tolerance overrated?

Liberal Eagle's recent post got me thinking about the subject of tolerance. It's common to see conservatives accusing liberals of being intolerant of their views. This is especially true of religious views on issues like homosexuality, abortion, and contraception. Since "tolerance" is usually regarded as a positive trait, this causes considerable angst. No one wants to be accused of intolerance.

Conservatives generally don't believe abortion, homosexuality, and ready access to contraception should be tolerated. Is a tolerant person required to accept viewpoints that are, themselves, intolerant? If so, tolerance is a sure path to political irrelevancy, since it would seem to preclude objecting to someone's stand on those issues -- or, in fact, on any issues.

Either "tolerance" is being defined overly broadly, or it's overrated as a personality trait. To refrain from objecting to anyone else's views in the name of tolerance is to completely abandon political debate, and that's definitely not a positive thing.