Conservative Hope Amid Republican Ruins

The editors of Nation Review today write all Americans should be glad that a black American has been able to make it to the presidency, and hope that President-Elect Barack Obama’s time in office will redound to the country’s long-term benefit.

The public has, however, clearly rejected the Republican party in its present configuration. It is always difficult for a party to maintain control of the White House after two terms in office. But both President Bush and Senator McCain made the task harder. Bush took too long to change course in Iraq and botched the response to Hurricane Katrina. McCain rarely stuck to one message or strategy. The financial crisis, for which we do not primarily blame either man, sealed the party’s fate.

The editors at NRO say that conservatives should be willing to work with the Democrats in Washington where appropriate -- assuming the Democrats are interested in having their help -- but should be no more mealy-mouthed, apologetic, or timorous than the Democrats were after the 2004 election. When Democrats misread the election as a mandate for liberalism, and particularly when they betray the explicit and implicit commitments Obama has made during this campaign, Republicans should do everything they can to drive the point home, less in the expectation that they will change legislative outcomes than that they will move voters in advance of 2010 and 2012.

I'm not sure I agree....

Read it.