Mike Murphy in this Time article talks about the future of the GOP:

Despairing Republican friends have been asking me what I think we should do to rebuild the GOP and begin our certain and inevitable comeback. My answer disappoints them: "Build an ark."

Good Friday morning Swordsmen. It's been a while since I dropped a NCR, but the last week of every month will always be a tough time for me. I hope everything is going well with everyone. a lot of stuff hit the Google reader that have since blown over, so if you see an old story or two, forgive me. On the ledger: a new guy in at Bank of America, Souter stepping down, Obama the socialist, black optimism, the future of the Republican Party, Chysler, cheating, and a surprise guest arrives to Twitter.

I think I found John Shimkus tell if I ever play him in poker, he scratches his head with his right hand when he is bluffing, or tugs on his shirt. Presses his left index finder on his temple hard when he knows he has a bad hand.

...only he doesn't seem like a real conservative in common usage of the term. (He seems more like the L word ;))

The governor from South Carolina has credentials...at least on a cursory level...to get me to finally vote GOP for President for the first time in my life.

Reason's Matt Welch has the story about new expose' on Sanford at the American Conservative magazine.

Highlights that caught my eye:

I'd been lightly following this Clive Crook story from afar without reading the actual article. Then I saw, via Will Wilkinson , that it's still growing and that Clive's original article even got responses from the two high profile macroeconomists mentioned in the article: Barro and Krugman.

During the GOP primaries I gravitated towards Romney and thought that he would make a much better candidate than McCain. In retrospect it is obvious that Romney would have been in his element during this economic crisis. Since there is nothing we can do about the past election, we can at the very least begin helping GOP to move towards remaking itself into the Romney party.

Ballot access expert Richard Winger's blog is an invaluable resource to a minor party/indy enthusiast like myself.  Lately he's done some work detaling the large amount of unopposed incumbents for state legislature this year.

And I'm actually quite happy about it. What is this new GOP? It is the GOP centered around an oft-repeated idea (at this blog and elsewhere) of National Greatness Conservatism.

Why am I happy about it? Well, because I believe this is the real GOP and always has been all along during my lifetime of 35 years and well before. It is the heart and soul of the party...and while it gave an appearance of being otherwise (libertarian, for example) from time to time, it was simply a marketing ploy to put a different spin...however incoherent...on the true driver of party ID.

McCain Considering Conceding Election Soon?

Joel S. Hirschhorn

In highly secret discussions John McCain is seeking feedback on the bold, historically unique idea of conceding the presidential election BEFORE Election Day!

Here are the main discussion points framing the conversations with his closest, long-time supporters, including his wife, but not current campaign staff.

Let's look at it from the Republican side, since presumably Obama would run for a second term on the Democratic side. Then we can ask who should run on the Republican ticket, who will run, and who is a wildcard possibility. All very much reading tea leaves this far out, of course, but it's a nice break from the day-to-day of the current campaign. Join me below the fold for a little wild speculation...

As my good friend Brutus14 pointed out in Thursday's open thread, the Barr campaign has filed suit [PDF] in Texas to have the court compel the Secretary of State to remove John McCain and Barack Obama from the ballot.

The statute in question which states in part:

Here Obama's 10 Worst Ideas .

Here's McCain's 10 Worst Ideas .

I think they are generally on the mark though I have some quibbles.

On Obama's, I'm not so sure how bad Number 4 is. Meeting with the Iranian President, by itself doesn't seem so bad to me. However, FP adds that Obama said he would do this "without precondition". Perhaps THAT isn't wise. I'm not sure. But according to a Carnegie Endowment expert on the matter:

A long time ago marketers figured out that in a consumer driven society the quickest way to sell a product is to put the “new” label on it. It doesn’t matter if the product has changed or not. A case in point is how many “new” Cokes have there been? Every couple of years we are treated to a new release of Coca Cola under some new ad campaign and packaging. Marketers have learned that the majority of Americans will buy anything so long as it is “new” just because it is labeled “new”. New and improved, under new management, and advanced formula are all familiar refrains of the marketers and have proven time and time again to be successful in attracting consumers. Unfortunately here in America we elect Presidents the way we buy products based on slick marketing and fancy packaging. Few of us have the time or the desire to investigate the people we elevate to the highest office in the land. The amazing thing about this is that we have just had the longest primary season ever and yet there are many people who claim they no nothing more about the candidates than what has been dished out by the tabloid journalists.

As we head into election season with rhetorical and hyperbolic guns ablazing, I find this short piece by Arnold Kling to be somewhat correct and refreshing.

Kling asserts that, for the most part, the difference is more rhetorical than anything else.

Says Kling:

Quite obviously, everyone wants their party/candidate/issue to win or otherwise gain power. I wish to discover at what cost people are willing to ensure their candidate wins. The trend I'm beginning to see in our increasingly hyper-partisan and polarized politics is that this line is shifting, but in the wrong direction.

Unintelligence in Federal Intelligence Agencies

Joel S. Hirschhorn

The Bush administration has found yet another way to waste taxpayer money while providing huge sums to private contractors. According to a survey of activities in 2007 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, about a third of the federal professional intelligence workforce now consists of contractors, mostly in the Washington, DC area.

It is amazing to me how foolish politicians and the media types take us for. They would have us believe that the reason McCain picked Governor Palin for his VP was because he wanted to thumb his nose at conventional wisdom and display once again what a maverick he is. According to the narrative, he wanted to demonstrate his desire for change and desire to break with the Washington insiders whom he has been a part of for the last 25 years. Let’s be clear John McCain would pick Satan himself if he thought it would get him elected. His selection of Governor Palin was a desperate move by a desperate man.

In my spectator role of this upcoming election, I've been becoming and increasingly and quietly intrigued about what could happen and what it could mean....in much the same way that I watch the analysts discuss the prospects of the upcoming NFL season. Former pros turned "analysts" and journalists are caressing their collective chin while scanning a multitude of factors to make the bold claim...namely that Team XYZ, in spite of current perceptions, is the "team to watch" or the "team to beat". See below for video.

GOP Officials just held a press conference here in St. Paul, Minnesota, to announce changes to the convention schedule in advance of Hurricane Gustav making landfall somewhere along the Gulf Coast. Sen. McCain has directed that all convention activities outside of necessary business be suspended until further notice.

I have it from several sources inside the California GOP that it is indeed Tim Pawlenty who's name will be put forth into nomination as the Republican Party's Vice Presidential nominee in 2008!
I wish I was wrong, I wanted Mitt Romney, but Tim is a solid conservative and a good choice for JM considering the attacks the left would have brought against Mitt.

OH YEAH! Even better, Sarah Palin is a solid conservative, an incredibly popular Governor, an effective reformer, and the perfect pick for the ticket!