Conservatives’ repudiation of Bush is part of their own self-denial. By pretending that he is entirely separate from them, they can delude themselves into thinking his defeat will not reflect on their own political future. But it will: Bush lacks a domestic policy, and the Republicans lack what Weber calls a “coherent national agenda,” because the conservatives, who provided both policy and agenda for the party over the last decade, are no longer capable of doing so.
Quiz: Guess what year this was written.