The Economist: Conservative Realignment On The Horizon

The most obvious truth of American politics is stated quite directly in this piece:

"America has two dysfunctional parties."

However, what may not be as obvious is the observation that the tensions within the conservative movement may come to a head and produce a change in Republican leadership in the near future. With the leadership of ethically-challenged Delay and obstinate Dubya seeming to fall out of favor, perhaps the famously popular Guiliani and McCain will have a chance to see if their substance can defeat the political guile of the Rove-Delay machine that has put its faction in control of the GOP and the USA.

Another point to note is the apparent inablility of the Democratic caucus to capitalize on a series of political blunders. This may be a good thing, because it reduces the potency of GOP claims of partisan opportunism, but it also means that these mistakes can go largely unpunished if Republicans also fail to clean their own house.

The silver lining may be this - if dramatic shifts in the Republican and Democratic parties are coming (hopefully not just wishful thinking) to compensate for this period of political blundering with little meaningful governing, then perhaps 2008 could see a real contest for leadership of the grandest republic on the Earth instead another poll to see which party produces the better poster-boy. Stranger things have happened, and we've waited long enough.