The Republican Party squandered its credibility by demonstrating that conservatism was nothing more than a half-baked version of socialism. Socialism-lite is in fact the least defensible position to take (if implementing socialism is worth doing at all, it's worth doing well; if it's not worth doing well, it's not worth doing at all), but that's all most people hear from most Republicans.
You may be right about the point you make, but I agree with Peggy Noonan’s assessment that GWB is personally responsible for the current out-of-favor status of the Republican Party. The length of the Iraq War, the controversial pretense for entering it, as well as other missteps, have slowly chipped away at the credibility of the GOP on Bush’s watch. The public view of Bush is a poor one, as is easily shown by his approval ratings. The GOP will pay the price for that for the next couple of election cycles, at least.
You may be right about the point you make, but I agree with Peggy Noonan’s assessment that GWB is personally responsible for the current out-of-favor status of the Republican Party. The length of the Iraq War, the controversial pretense for entering it, as well as other missteps, have slowly chipped away at the credibility of the GOP on Bush’s watch. The public view of Bush is a poor one, as is easily shown by his approval ratings. The GOP will pay the price for that for the next couple of election cycles, at least.