You make some excellent points in your #160, sam_paine.
However, I can think of a quick rebuttal off the top of my head (with more to come later).
Although Reagan was The Great Communicator and it had a lot to do with his success, it’s NOT the reason we all love him... not the #1 reason, anyway. He was a Great President and Great American and then, 3rd, he was a Great Communicator.
What if we don’t have a Great Communicator right now but have several viable candidates for Great (or near-Great, or relatively-Great) President?
Should we nix them, or forget them, or fail to defend them against a vicious press simply because they lack Reagan’s #3 quality, that of Great Communication?
Sure I wish Bachmann had done what you said (and I often post similar wishes myself regarding other Republicans)... but that’s no reason to let Wallace or anyone else off the hook.
And that’s no reason to dismiss Bachmann’s quest for the presidency.
And I say that even though she is not at the top of my list, which runs as follows:
1. Palin
2. Perry
3. Bachmann
4. Cain
What if we don’t have a Great Communicator right now but have several viable candidates
Well, Dubya was an obviously "viable" candidate. He won! Twice. And yet, we cringed every time he made a speech and the left took advantage of it and said "See! conservatives are idiots and hypocrites!" Well, except that Bush was not a conservative, so he wasn't a hypocrite....but he did give us all a horrible name.
OTOH, it's not clear to me that Ronaldus Magnus reincarnated could win in 2012....certainly he would not have beaten Obama in 2008.