Regarding the Republican Party…it is dead! If they follow your suggestions they will maintain the fiction of a two party system while offering only the same ideas and ideology as the opposition. Like it or not a strong move to the right is the only thing that will recusitate the Republican Party and take it off the autopsy table.

“Senator McCain won the Republican nomination, but was the weakest potential candidate in the field when it came to the general election.”

On what do you base this?

Obama’s margin was about 6.5% in a country in which the current percentage of people who identify with the Democrats over Republicans is between 5 and 10% and Rasmussen had Dems ahead 7-8% on the generic congressional ballot.

Given Bush’s dismal approval rating and the above national preference for the Dems, why do you think Giuli, Thompson, or Romney might have done better. I think it is just speculation.

I wouldn’t have time to analyze all the individual votes, but clearly in my own state of NC, McCain ran well ahead of Elizabeth Dole. Another state I like to look at is Colorodo as it was an open seat and a conservative GOP ran against a liberal Dem. and again McCain ran comfortably ahead of the GOP candidate.

As to Palin, she obviously had an initial positive effect on the campaign, but after not too long her unfavorables increased. The last favorability poll I could find shows Palin at 37% favorable vs 37% unfavorable which compares with the old guy Biden at 43% favorable and 21% unfavorable and McCain at 43 to 42:

http://www.pollingreport.com/P.htm

Scott Elliot a conservative pollster at Election Projection actually felt that Palin was a possible contributor to the GOP fade, and people like George Will who very much disliked Palin represent a part of the GOP that will desert the party if she gains ascendency.

My own belief is that the future of the party is with the policies of McCain though they could produce a more charismatic candidate.

Palin represents the stronger conservatives and evangelicals. The GOP tapped out the evangelicals in the 70′s and 80′s and the ideological strong conservatives only represent about 30% of the population. To attract the new demographics of immigrants, young people, and a more active African American electorate, Sarah Palin is not the one. You don’t need Idaho, you need PA, OH, and VA.

Norm Coleman? One of the few GOPs to win in a state that went fairly strong for Obama.

So, how will change come about after the Omessiah self-destructs? It will come on the wings of elections won at local, county, state, and national levels in that order. The initial driving force will be income redistribution from those that earned it to those with their hands out for it, followed by massive job loss as small business owners like me and my partners eliminate all employees and reduce our start up efforts to only those that are guaranteed a return and beyond the ability of a socialist government to tax or take over NOTE: this may change our investment behaviour to off shore enterprises in carefully selected locations that prize the entrpreneur.

It will be a long 4 years unless one of the odd ball citizenship claims turns out to be accurate, then we will see civil unrest (read this as civil war) reach new heights therefore each thinking citizen needs to take steps now to protect assets and family.