Struggle for the GOP

The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians, and the Battle to Control the Republican Party, by Ryan Sager (Wiley, 256 pp., $25.95)

WHATEVER one thinks of him, President Bush is a polarizing figure. His faith, his malapropisms, his cocksure strut—each is sufficient to drive certain folks batty. But the polarization of the Bush era contains a deep irony: While most liberals seem convinced Bush has governed as a right-wing partisan, many conservatives treat him as a profound disappointment, if not an outright phony.

DC

About the Author

Duncan Currie

Duncan Currie is a writer in Washington, D.C.

The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals, Libertarians, and the Battle to Control the Republican Party, by Ryan Sager (Wiley, 256 pp., $25.95)

WHATEVER one thinks of him, President Bush is a polarizing figure. His faith, his malapropisms, his cocksure strut—each is sufficient to drive certain folks batty. But the polarization of the Bush era contains a deep irony: While most liberals seem convinced Bush has governed as a right-wing partisan, many conservatives treat him as a profound disappointment, if not an outright phony.