A couple of years ago, I noted that the Republicans, like the Bourbons of France, had learned nothing and forgotten nothing. (The phrase is from Talleyrand.)
That's even more true today, when the the once Grand Old Party has nothing to offer but the hope that Democrats will fail. They have not only ceded the initiative to President Obama (I like writing those words together!) and his allies on Capitol Hill, they have no ideas worth the name to offer as an alternative. That is sad, because for all of his energy, initiative and ability, Obama has not been perfect so far, and intellectual competition could improve the way we are governed. But the Republicans offer no creative ideas about the direction in which the nation should move, or even on the issues of the day.
Almost certainly, there will come a time when this will change, when Republicans will offer some real, if misguided, theories on what the United States should be like and how we should govern ourselves. And when that happens, we Democrats will deride the Republicans and wail if the voters seem to accept what they have to say. But in the long run, the nation will be better for it. Well, maybe. Are we really better off for having had Reagan?
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