Thomas Frank: The GOP Ain't Dead Yet

For Republicans, the big immediate problem of the past few years has been how to distance themselves from George W. Bush and all the disasters for which he stands. How do you put some daylight between yourself and this guy?

Unfortunately, they have been able to come up with only one way: Impostor theory. The movement's instinct, developed during better times, is to dismiss all failings as authenticity problems. The true faith wasn't discredited, they say, Dubya simply failed to live up to it. We didn't change Washington, they moan, Washington changed us.