If only more Republicans had been so principled when George Bush was wrecking the old Conservative republican platform. Then McCain might have been able to run a better campaign, and would face a far less tilted field in any event.

The ship-jumpers are leaving through the holes created by the last 8 years of abandonment of principles, corruption, and dishonesty.

This, and various Volokh bloggers' warnings of upcoming losses of freedom, has the ring of closing the barn door after the horses are gone. Any loss of freedom or defeat of conservative ideals in the next 4 years can be laid directly at the feet of the people who should have been defending them, but did not, during the last 8.

The fact that Krauthammer considers Christopher Hitchens to be a conservative tell us all we need to know about the conservatism of this former speech-writer for Walter Mondale and native of Canada. Only inside the Beltway could such characters as Krauthammer and Hitchens be seen as "conservative."

His article about Harriet Miers seemed strange, in that he decried her lack of a record (understandably, justifiably, and correctly), but failed to place that in context. When people like Joe Biden proudly declare that they would not vote to appoint judges based on expertise, wisdom, and brilliance, but on the presence (or lack thereof) of a certain judicial temperament, it seems strange to complain when a President acts in the face of such a reality. Is anyone surprised when a President would consider a "tabula rasa" to be a feature, not a bug?

Krauthammer shows us the the strength of Neoconservatism. First you accept the premise that American morality, and the morality of American causes is supreme. Then you just need to believe that cost-benefit analysis can not be applied to those causes. Once you do that, Neo-conservatism is unfalsifiable.

That’s what liberals can’t understand. The fact that Neo-Conservative actions lead to a more dangerous world justifies the need for more Neo-conservative action. Afterall we must not be defeated by the terrorists.

Yep, the only motivation a conservative would possibly have to support Obama is a state dinner.

Republicans are always so hungry!!

REPUBLICANS!! SERVE YOUR PRINCIPLES, NOT YOUR STOMACHS!

Steve,

"the party is determined to continue on a Palinesque trajectory rather than the one they believe is necessary for electoral viability."

The two are not mutually exclusive. Hard to fathom, I know. Not sure how one continues on a trajectory only six weeks old. She's been doing her best to back the candidate and fire up the party. That's her present job. After the election, she'll have more options.

Colin Powell is the only of these endorsement that could plausibly be characterized as a power play, though I see very little reason to suspect that it is. Doug Kemeic endorsed long ago. Christopher Hitchens isn't getting invited to anything, no matter whom he endoreses. And Fried doesn't jump ship, he is the freaking ship.

David Warner,

You make a good point that isn't said enough: It's Palin's job right now to be nasty and fire up the base. Only after the election will we be able to assess her broader appeal.

That said, as a Democrat who barfs whenever I see a picture of Al Gore or John Kerry, I think you might be underestimating the emotional realignment that comes from watching your candidate lose a presidential campaign (and no wonder, you guys haven't lost one in a while). Like any breakup, love can turn to hate pretty quickly.

I would be a fan of Palin if she wasn't right of the Pope on social issues.

But regardless of my STRONG disagreement with her on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage, I still refuse to vote for Obama. Obama's focus is correctly on taxes, regulation, and healthcare. Unfortunately his views on those issues are as far left as Palin's social view are to the right.

The difference is that banning abortion and gay marriage won't destroy the US economy while Obama and the democrat's plans will.

Frankly the decision regarding who to vote for is not even close.

I wonder how many of those public Obama voters are really voting for McCain. I'll bet there are more than a few.

Of course, I am voting for Obama. Take my word for it. I would never lie about that just so I am in with the cool kids.

D Palmer: “Obama's focus is correctly on taxes, regulation, and healthcare. Unfortunately his views on those issues are as far left as Palin's social view are to the right.”

So, raising the income tax rate from 36% to 39% in incomes over $250,000 per year is “far to the left”? A majority of Americans now favor national health care, so how can Obama's embracing of that issue be “far to the left”?

Krauthammer was right on the Miers nomination and his convictions are equally sound presently.

Another opinion in the WaPo, Michael Gerson's, is an equally, perhaps more probative reflection, especially so his summation.

Bah, I'd invite him to my New Year's party. The man is a riot.

You wouldn't if you were providing the libations. He's rather famous on that score.

The idea Hitchens is any kind of conservative is laughable. He's a proponent of the "war on terror", but mostly because he's a devout (heh) atheist with an abiding hatred of religion in all its guises. His non-war political positions are left of the center of the Democratic party, let alone the Republican. The surprise would be if he endorsed McCain.

Powell was a Republican because it was politically convenient. He's always been too liberal to fit in, is the ultimate expression of the affirmative action climber, and is mostly famous in military circles for being the guy in the Pentagon you don't want to turn your back on. If Obama gives Powell a job of any import it just proves he's as dumb as I think he is.

As for Adelman, a Dick Morris-style operative who is famous for having made the dumbest remark of the Bush administration (the Iraq war will be "a cakewalk"), and Buckley The Lesser, never actually a conservative... well, no surprise there either. I would add Scott McClellan, the most incompetent press secretary in my lifetime, and maybe Kathleen Parker (who?).

Krauthammer is using "Republican" and "conservative" interchangeably here, which is either sloppy or disingenuous. I have yet to see Obama endorsed by an actual conservative.

I do have a question, though. What does Krauthammer mean by "wet-fingered"?

Hi -

I suspect "wet-fingered" refers to seeing which way the wind is blowing. There are too many other options that I will refrain from exploring.

"Indeed they are sound. Those with a neo-conservative predilection for genocide of the less well-behaved should stick with the GOP nominee in this race, and not be fooled by Obama's fake support for Israel, Georgia and Kosovo." PLR

The vapid sneer and accompanying arrogation is a useful form of rhetorical genocide, no doubt.

No thought, no problem.

The idea Hitchens is any kind of conservative is laughable.

Hitchens is a neo-conservative in the true sense of the world -- a reformed commie who finds himself supporting conservatives because he sees their foreign policy as a way to create a better tomorrow.

I found that column singularly unconvincing. He won't countenance the erratic argument because... McCain was a prisoner of war, and he hung on after his campaign appeared to be finished. Well good for him, the man's a trooper. But it doesn't mean he isn't an impulsive decider, as Bush would put it. The attempt to save the bailout negotiations is hardly the worst of it. I'm more concerned about his randomly proposing to cap executive salaries at the firms that took bailout money at four hundred grand (the same the President makes!), and then having the gall to call Obama a crypto-socialist for proposing to raise the rate on the top bracket by three points. Which of those two proposals is more socialist? What does executive compensation have to do with anything? What a bright idea, seeing to it that executives make no more than mediocre corporate lawyers. Can you say "talent drain"? Then his next bright idea was to fire Chris Cox and replace him with Andrew Cuomo. Because Cuomo was the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under Clinton, so - oh wait, he helped cause this mess! But hey, at least it was bipartisan and mavericky. Then there was the oversight commission proposal, featuring some of the most respected names in business, like Bloomberg, Buffett, and Mitt Rommney. Because the sitting Mayor of New York City has the time to oversee the bailout. Then there was the lunatic mortgage buyback plan that no one thinks could work. Then, he comes out with a new economic plan, and the centerpiece is a capital gains tax cut. Because we all have so much capital gains these days. Instant stimulus! Then there was the time in the debate when he proposed to make the ex-eBay CEO his Treasury Secretary. I guess now that Gramm's popularity is kind of shot, Meg was the logical fallback. What does Meg Whitman know about macroeconomics, really? At least she'd be our first Treasury Secretary with experience managing the Mr. Potato Head brand. (No, I didn't make that up. Her last job was doing just that for Hasbro.) So I buy the erratic argument. Then Krauthammer says that the world is really "dangerous out there," so surely you want the "most serious foreign policy thinker in the United States Senate" at the helm. Not really saying much, that plaudit, but what makes McCain such a serious foreign policy thinker? Here's what I've learned from McCain on foreign policy this election:

1. When he looks in Putin's eyes, he sees a K, a G, and a B. Even Reagan, you know, didn't go around personally attacking the Russian leaders.
2. Putin wants to restore the borders of the Russian Empire. Even though he can't even afford to take out Ukraine.
3. We can never talk to, in any circumstances, a guy who denies the Holocaust. That would be really dangerous and naive, as we'd somehow legitimate his Holocaust-denial by the mere act of speaking to him. However, if he agrees to scrap his nuclear program before we talk - which of course is the whole purpose of talking to the guy in the first place - then it just might be safe to talk.
4. Surges are good. General Petraeus is a wise, wise man.
5. "We are all Georgians now."

"When Palin tiptoes back to Alaska on 11/5, she's in for a rough ride."

But she'll have a fabulous wardrobe. And in the end, isn't that all that really matters?

Randy B: "Krauthammer Refuses to Jump Ship"

Am I the only one who finds this a nasty albeit clever phrase to use to describe the actions of a paraplegic?