Election Day of Reckoning

George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues.

Were there other causes? Yes, of course. But there was an immediate and essential cause. -- Peggy Noonan

Romney and McCain are the two viable Republican candidates best able to reverse, reject, and replace the Bush legacy. They have been since day one. It's a shame they would never consider sharing a ticket, because that ticket, in addition to laying a lot of inside-basebally fears to rest, could just possibly selectively filter out the bad parts and result in the embodiment of the GOP that should have been.

On the other hand it could be all bad parts, and that would be superbad.

But Noonan helps Republicans frame the big question: how to most fully repudiate Bush while also ensuring that Hillary Clinton NEVER becomes President.

It's an uncanny reflection of the task set before Barack Obama, and that's why conservatives don't fear and loathe him.

Comments

[Robert C. Cheeks]

James, is McCain a Republican? Or, Mitt for that matter. Haven't we had enough of the party elite, the neocons, the beltway bandits, ect.? And Southern Partisan is split asunder as well!

[James]

Bob, yes, things are bad, but Romney and McCain are certainly still Republicans, and even, in some important ways, conservatives. Paleo-leaning conservatives have got to not carry too much of a grudge, however, about what they already know: that most of the country disagrees fundamentally with them on probably at least two major policy issues and three major philosophical issues. That doesn't mean throw in the towel. It does mean phrasing arguments rhetorically and factually in terms that they can be persuaded on. Actually I think paleos are doing a much better job of this than in the past. As disappointing as Ron Paul's campaign may be, it's still a gazillion times more legit than probably either paleos or libertarians have a 'right' to expect considering the lay of the land over the past decade.