It has been quite an amazing ten days

I left for vacation about a week and a half ago and expected things to be relatively quiet. Boy was I wrong. It now seems that Scott Brown has a chance to take the senate race in Massachusetts, Harry Reid is a closet racist, Team Obama can't even manage the TSA, Obama still cannot bring himself to get committed to the war on terror even when the USA is attacked, Obamacare is not the steamroller that it appeared after the Senate passage, Democrats are sinking quickly with sure Republican pickups appearing in places like North Dakota, and, well, you get the picture.

There is a little less than ten months until the November elections. Much can and will happen by that time. Still, things look better now for the GOP than at any time since 2004 in my opinion.

This, of course, leads to the a very difficult choice for Republicans. Should they stand by and watch the Democrats commit suicide, or should they present their own program for the recovery of the USA and allow the voters to choose? I vote for the program and the clear choice. Power should not be an end in itself for a political party or one ends up with nonsense like we are getting now with the Dems. After all, does anyone believe that the current healthcare bills would stand any chance of passage if Democrats voted on the basis of what is best for the country rather than what they perceive to be best for their party? I doubt that any but the most committed ideologue could believe such a thing. Republicans need a program which increases job growth, not just the mantra of lower taxes. They also need a program to reduce government spending and the size of the deficit rather than just announcing the goal. The GOP also needs to have its own view on the healthcare system which it announces. A party view on the War on Terror issues also must be presented. Obviously, the GOP cannot speak with one voice since it does not hold the presidency and has no clear leader as a result. Nevertheless, a coherent set of shared values and positions would go a long way towards restoring the ability of the GOP to heal the damage that it did to itself during Bush's second term.

One last thing is also needed. Republicans need to project a sunny optimism about the country. Not because some consultant tells them to do so, but because they actually believe that things can and will get better. Nastiness may excite the base, but it is a major flop with most people.