Rove forgot that in political war you reward your allies and hurt your enemies.

* * *

Note that while the Left may rush to exaggerated expectations (and misinterpretation of the election), the following guy is realistic. I suspect it's why Obama and the Dems have largely played it safe this year, not advocating anything radical or otherwise shocking prior to taking control next year. They can simply be more coherent and an obvious alternative (and more generous with entitlements and spending promises) than the GOP. (That's not too hard to do, despite the GOP's huge spending.)

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/2008110…

What the idiots in the Bush Admnistration failed to realize is that they would actually have to govern and that their performance would be rated by achievement instead of by gimmicks. Look at how Rove totally misplayed the response to Katrina or totally misplay the amnesty for illegal aliens.

Rove did not appeal to the base as much as take it for granted. Rove believes that you can ignore your base for three years while pandering to new groups and then recapture the base during the electon cycle.

Rove also thought that if you pander enough you can get more votes (see the problems that the Republicans created for themselves with the brainless Hispandering).

The real lesson that needs to be learned, as well as identifying just what the GOP and conservatives are doing wrong*, that specifically is campaign-related, is for the GOP to analyze Obama's successful campaign, because it has been so successful. I'm not referring to any need for the GOP to recruit younger, more attractive candidates who are great talkers and smooth with sound bites, the way Obama is (for one thing, GOP-voting people are less fooled by such things), and not necessarily the gimmickry associated with the use of the latest technical tools that Obama's team used, but rather with the overall aims or strategies that the team followed throughout the year. Some but relatively few of us had seen Obama's 2004 speech (the one at which Hillary Clinton displayed amazement and delight; she truly was impressed by it, as anyone who watched the speech and her reaction to it can tell you). Obama came out of obscurity and first unseated the presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton, eclipsing her on Super Tuesday, and now he leads easily against McCain. It cannot all be laid on or attributed to the GOP and public disenchantment. Obama has run a good campaign and the GOP needs to learn from this.

* As to the GOP or conservatism, to date I believe my cynical recommendation remains the best — the GOP should just privatize and outsource itself, in order to become at least, coherent, and hire the Heritage Foundation to make all its decisions. It can even make money on it, for if sports stadiums and events can be commercialized, why not the pro-business Heritage Foundation Republican Party?

And if McCain were somehow to win on Tuesday? The sewer will outdo itself.