Peggy Noonan had a great op-ed in today’s WSJ.  The antepenultimate paragraph is as follows:

"Mr. Bush has squandered the hard-built paternity of 40 years. But so has the party, and so have its leaders. If they had pushed away for serious reasons, they could have separated the party’s fortunes from the president’s. This would have left a painfully broken party, but they wouldn’t be left with a ruined "brand," as they all say, speaking the language of marketing. And they speak that language because they are marketers, not thinkers. Not serious about policy. Not serious about ideas. And not serious about leadership, only followership."

She’s spot-on.  Today’s Republicans have forgotten the principles that led to their success.  Conservatism is an ideology and philosophy.  It’s about exercising restraint in all things, not just ideas that sell to the base.

Everyone should take the time to construct or reexamine their own political philosophy and determine if it’s about leadership, or followership.