“They'll fall for one of the greatest fables told and re-told, that various programs “would have worked” but they weren't sufficiently funded or pursued with enough vigor, i.e., “we didn't try hard enough or go far enough” [sic].
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DLS, it's the same fable that those opposed to the US getting out of Vietnam also told. How many of those people ended up in the current administration to try to prove themselves right with the Iraq war? Mind you, I'm not making a tiresome Iraq-Vietnam comparison but rather that's how these people saw it, as another chance to prove (in their minds) that they would've been “right” about Vietnam. Would you agree that what you feel as fable for the Left is a fable used by the Right as well, just with a slightly different tune?

That's the real danger, for many younger voters weren't even alive or aware (and many will never learn) during the time of liberalism's failures, into the 1970s, and why the US public said “enough” in the 1980s and why the Right arose for at least a while as an alternative to the welfare-state-and-activism failures wrought by the Left.

They'll fall for one of the greatest fables told and re-told, that various programs “would have worked” but they weren't sufficiently funded or pursued with enough vigor, i.e., “we didn't try hard enough or go far enough” [sic].

You have been for awhile saying that moderate Republicans needed to take back the party. That we needed to get past the Bush policies and the divide and conquer. Even making “The Letter”, well we finally have a candidate and your going to bail for some light and magic show. Ya McCain isn't perfect but I believe he is the best shot we have for awhile.

I know that if McCain loses that the conservatives in the party will blame it on moderate Republicans but if we don't start fighting now well never take the party back or at least move the line further to the center.

It's very discouraging to see fellow moderate Republicans fooled by Obama. He isn't going to represent conservative viewpoints for certain but he isn't going to even represent moderate policies. Maybe with a Republican congress but with a Democratic led congress it's going to be huge expansion of government, bad foreign policy and also a movement that will last a long time. This will take years to undo just like it has taken a long time for the Reagan Revolution to end.