Is GOP Crop the Best or Worst Ever? It Doesn't Matter

In Townhall, today, Michael Medved tries to put the GOP 2008 Presidential field "in proper perspective" by illustrating how crappy their primary candidates have been in the past. And he's right. This year's group of candidates is the best ever, not the worst, despite the misgivings of Republican Party politicos and ground troops, alike. They exactly represent what the Republican Party is all about and they have experience to make a legitimate run on their party principles.

The problem is not with the candidates, though, it's with the GOP's current condition. The alliance of religious conservatives, cut-throat yuppies, the opulent that yuppies desire to be, anti-gay/black/brown bigots, and nationalists has been broken by their own arrogance. Upon gaining control of all three branches of government in 2005, the GOP thanked these groups but informed them that their services, and expectations, would no longer be needed.

The fact is that Ronald Reagan, at the feet of whom every conservative feels the need to worship, could not get elected in this climate. Religious conservatives will not wage the GOP's ground war for them in 2008, because they feel misunderstood after Terry Schiavo, ashamed after Katrina, and ignored by the Supreme Court appointments of Alito and Roberts. The yuppies see their portfolios in a constant state of flux because of the irresponsible deregulation of finance, and the weakness of the dollar caused by enormous trade and budget deficits to wage a war they only had passing interest in to begin with. And the "Reagan Democrats", now being given hope by Obama and Edwards, will ignore the social ideology that has kept them from finding something better for themselves for two generations.

A waffling Governor, an incompetent celebrity mayor, a war hero trying to refight the war he was held in captivity through, and a career lobbyist who served the highest bidder absolutely are the best GOP field in many years. They accurately represent the true interests of the GOP. The problem is that the brazenness and overreaching of the GOP in 2005 and 2006 has illustrated that fact, and none of those who were swindled for so long will continue to be taken for fools.

How does your boy, W, put it? "Fool me once, shame on... shame on... shame on you. Fool me twice... Fool me, can't get fooled again."