April 24, 2006 Issue Copyright © 2006 The American Conservative Where Have All the Conservatives Gone? The Republican Party’s top contenders for 2008 aren’t paleoconservatives—or any other kind. By W. James Antle III Come 2008, who will succeed George W. Bush at the helm of a troubled Republican Party? Though the next presidential race is far off, the question is already on conservatives’ minds.The last few months haven’t been kind to Republican operatives who assumed President Bush’s slide in popularity would be temporary. Instead, his approval ratings have settled below 40 percent, averaging 38 percent over the last four Gallup...