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Peggy Noonan was a brilliant speech writer 30 years ago. Today, she's just 30 years older and a bit crankier. Nothing has destroyed the Republican party. President Bush did some bone-headed things like the nomination of Harriet Miers, but as I recall judge Alito sits on the court, not Harriet. It didn't make me question my party, it just caused a sore spot on my head due to scratching it in wonderment.

President Bush's biggest problem seems to have been overspending. But, what were the big ticket items here, Iraq War, Homeland Security and the prescription drug program. Hmmm... I can't think of two and certainly not three of these items I was against. Percentage increases in existing programs certainly were much lower than traditional budget hikes. President Bush didn't fight back when attacked, but I can't find the logic needed to follow this problem to the conclusion of a fractured GOP. The President IMHO is on the wrong side of immigration, but that's not destroying the GOP, in fact I'd say immigration helps pull the GOP together. I'm sure there are more Republicans that want to throw illegals out of the country and build a fence than there are Pro-Life-Gun-Small Government Republicans.

Everyone is looking for a scapegoat to blame the Republican woes of late. I find it humorous that so many are joining lockstep with Democrats in pointing fingers at the President.

I'm personally tired of everyone evoking the name of President Reagan. A good man and in my opinion the best President we've had in over a century, but people forget how Mr. Reagan got elected. The holy mantra flung around is because he was a hard core conservative, or is it that he was a fiercely religious man, or a hawk or so many others that I lose track. Well, exactly how does that explain 26% of Democrats, 27% of liberals and 54% of moderates voting for him. Heck, only 71% of conservatives voted for the man. See table/a> from raw data by American National Election Studies (ANES). He was smart enough to create a big tent coalition.

The problem with the GOP is that each of it's constituents has decided that they alone represent the party. Evangelicals think they are the only true Republicans, far right Conservatives have the same vision, as do Neo-Cons, moderates and so on. That's why we can't find a candidate. There is no such applicant that personifies this ideal candidate. Republicans have finally become intolerant of themselves. Everyone's a RINO!

Just watch for posts back to me to prove my point!!! :-)

But, what were the big ticket items here, Iraq War, Homeland Security and the prescription drug program. Hmmm... I can't think of two and certainly not three of these items I was against.

Well I can think of two I was against, and a third that I would have been against (the invasion of Iraq) if I had understood at the time how incompetent the neocons running it were. It took us six years to find a strategy that worked with the people.

Homeland security was an even worse idea than the Department of Energy - a large spralling bureaucracy that barely has a mission or the competency to execute it, because the function is not one belonging to a centralized government but a decentralized economy (and that goes for Homeland security too, which is much more a police and FBI function than whatever it is that Homeland security really thinks it does do).