The Republican Challenge

THE party’s nominee mentioned the party’s name twice in his acceptance speech, each time in the context of bipartisan cooperation. In this respect, George W. Bush’s party resembles his father’s: Republicans of all ages find it hard to speak up for their party and its principles.

Think back over recent presidential campaigns. Bob Dole boasted repeatedly that he hadn’t read the Republican platform he was supposed to be running on. President Bush called conspicuously for a “kinder, gentler” America, implying that it would be an improvement over Ronald Reagan’s. Even the Great Communicator didn’t seem to take a lot of pride in being a Republican. A former Democrat himself, he liked to tell voters that “I didn’t leave my party, and we’re not suggesting you leave yours.” It was “the leadership of the Democratic party” that had left him, declared Reagan, and so he called on the “millions of patriotic Democrats in this country who believe in freedom” to join him in his partisan exile.

About the Author

Charles R. Kesler

Charles R. Kesler, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College, is the editor of the Claremont Review of Books.

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Presidential Election

THE party’s nominee mentioned the party’s name twice in his acceptance speech, each time in the context of bipartisan cooperation. In this respect, George W. Bush’s party resembles his father’s: Republicans of all ages find it hard to speak up for their party and its principles.

Think back over recent presidential campaigns. Bob Dole boasted repeatedly that he hadn’t read the Republican platform he was supposed to be running on. President Bush called conspicuously for a “kinder, gentler” America, implying that it would be an improvement over Ronald Reagan’s. Even the Great Communicator didn’t seem to take a lot of pride in being a Republican. A former Democrat himself, he liked to tell voters that “I didn’t leave my party, and we’re not suggesting you leave yours.” It was “the leadership of the Democratic party” that had left him, declared Reagan, and so he called on the “millions of patriotic Democrats in this country who believe in freedom” to join him in his partisan exile.