I am very much bummed out that the current state of conservative commentary is such a mess. Heading into last year’s election, it was a virtual certainty to any objective observer that Obama would beat McCain. All the polls predicted it and there was very little doubt on election night. That said, the election really WAS close enough that if the Republicans were able to lick their wounds and not overreact, they could have a pretty good chance in 2012. Think about it. If the GOP could grab California and NY (no easy task, for sure) in 2012, THEY would win. And in my lifetime, I have seen both of those states vote Republican in a presidential election. The fact that Obama beat McCain was such a seismic shock to republican voters and pundits that many have simply gone off the deep end in their overreaction. If the sane voices on the right deliver some intellectual shock treatment to the base, maybe the healing can begin and the party can right itself. The influence of the becks, pauls, and Rushes is incredibly damaging because it will be impossible to convince independents and Reagan Democrats to vote for the GOP when the GOP has been hijacked by the extremists. There needs to be some “Buckleyesque” people out there who speak up soon. Because if they don’t, the Obama margin of victory in the 2012 election is going to make the 2008 election margin look small.