It’s a tough time to be a Republican. In 2000 the Republicans “swift-boated” John McCain and picked George W. Bush.

Big mistake.

But the Republicans started their error stacking immediately. Quickly the party leaders grasped their mistake, realizing Bush was a wader that had been shoved in the deep end. Instead of propping him up, mitigating the damage, they invested all their energy in excusing away, rationalizing and justifying blunder after blunder. Months turned into years, and the Republicans continued to stack flawed strategies on top of flawed strategies.

Another big mistake.

As Americans came to the full realization that George W. Bush was a total incompetent, and a source of great embarrassment whenever he had to speak in public, the Republicans continued their flawed strategy of defending him at all costs. Bush’s approval ratings continued to plummet as his failed policies created more and more problems. When new issues surfaced, George W. Bush revealed over and over he was clueless about how to do his job. The Republicans continued their tireless denial strategy.

Another big mistake.

When we approached the campaign season the Republicans discovered that Bush had created disasterous issues so large and massive in volume and scope that only second-tier Republican candidates were willing to enter the presidential primaries. One by one Republicans eliminated candidates they didn’t like. They concluded their primaries by having once candidate left, not one they enthusiastically embraced, but rather the last one standing after they rejected the others. They didn’t pick their candidate, they eliminated the others.

Another big mistake.

So John McCain became their party’s leader. The Republican Party continues to struggle to just tolerate him. They don’t like his age, knowing it’s not reasonable to elect a candidate that frequently has “senior moments”, but they’re stuck with him. They don’t like his “family values”, knowing he’s been a serial adulterer, but they’re stuck with him. They don’t like his wife, knowing she’s been a drug addict and a thief, but they’re stuck with her too. They’re concerned about his temper tantrums, creating irrational comments and impaired judgment, but they’re stuck with him. They don’t like his positions on the issues, even planning to ambush him at their convention to force more flip-flops, but they’re stuck with him.

They realize that the economy, now faltering on all fronts is at the forefront of voter’s minds, and their candidate has openly admitted, then denied, then been proven that he’s clueless about economics, but they’re stuck with him. One of McCain’s self-claimed strengths is his stance on Iraq, wanting to follow the Bush policies with a permanent occupation. McCain has said withdrawal isn’t important. Then a few days later the Iraqi government has made it crystal clear they want America to leave, and they want a timetable for withdrawal. George W. Bush is now in the process of working on a withdrawal plan, leaving John McCain to twist in the wind with his massive volume of foolish Bush-supporting statements. So McCain’s one self-claiming strength is turning into a giant embarrassment, but Republicans are stuck with him.

McCain’s campaign will go down in history as one of the worst managed efforts in history. He’s constantly been put in situations that showcase how boring he really is. He’s had to undergo one long series of staff shake-ups after another. His campaign staff has included hate-monger preachers he sought out, then abandoned. Economic advisors that have previously created horrific economic disasters, even an actual terrorist employed as a fund raiser. He’s had a high level of Republican gay-bashers that had to depart after discovery that they were engaging in gay affairs. On and on.

It’s been observed that you can gain a clear picture of how someone would lead our nation based on a view of how they’ve managed their campaign. Republican leaders are aware of that fact, but they’re stuck with McCain.

Entire websites are now devoted to the daily assignment of detailing the growing list of clear, precise issue flip-flops of John McCain. He’s made feeble attempts to deny them, but his denials have been debunked in minutes, making him look even more foolish. Combining that with his self-proclaimed label as a man of “straight talk” turns John McCain into a running joke, not a serious candidate. His views on the important issues of the day, a few are personal views, most newly adopted flip-flops to appease the radical right of his party, have clearly positioned his candidacy as a continuance of the George W. Bush policies that America has rejected. Not a good position to be in, but Republicans are stuck with him.

The leaders of the Republican Party put themselves in this position by their unwavering defense of George W. Bush’s mistakes, blunders, disasters, and his total lack of competency.

Big mistake.

They realize they cannot win the general election by campaigning on the issues and their plans to address and solve the disasters they created. They realize they cannot win the general election based on the merits of their candidate. Republican leaders and strategists have to run from those topics. They have to blur the truth and distract the public’s attention from their record and policy positions. So they’re trying to return to their frequent tactic of smears, lies, distortions, groundless fears and innuendos.

They have one chance, and only one chance to make a showing in the general election. They have to “swift-boat” John McCain’s opponent. Republicans used that technique against John McCain and brought us the worst president in America’s history. They want to do it again, and install a third term for the policies that are now our nation’s biggest problems.

The challenge will be greater for the Republicans in 2008 than in previous years. The depth of the problems they’ve created is larger. The negative impact on Americans from their policies is enormous. Americans have continued to show that in 2008 they want answers and solutions. Our nation has challenges in our path as great as those faced by Franklin Roosevelt when he went to work fixing the Republican disasters created by Herbert Hoover. While the Republican smears, lies and distortions may be noticed, you can almost hear Americans saying in response, “Well ok, but what are YOU going to do about….”

Republicans don’t have any answers to that question.

That won’t deter them from taking their campaign into the gutter. It’s all they’ve got. It’s almost like the race for the White House is the Kentucky Derby and the Republicans are riding a tired, worn-out, old plow horse. They can’t outrun the field, so they’ll try to disable the others. But the Republicans have employed this sleaze technique so often we’re all expecting it again. When it arrives it will not have the previous shock value. We’ve seen it all before, and we know it’s coming again.

In some respects it’s like watching a grade B horror film when an actor approaches a closed door, slowly reaches for the doorknob, and we all know the boogie man is lurking behind it.

If the Republicans had invested the same energy and efforts in mitigating the damage of George W. Bush, which they employed in excusing, rationalizing and justifying his incompetence and blunders, they wouldn’t be in this position. But they made their choices, now they have to suffer the consequences. By huge margins, all the national polls show Americans want a change in direction. Republicans are offering four more years of the same. When the Republicans launch their “swift-boating”, ignoring the voter’s desire for a change, they may actually find their slime efforts falling on deaf ears.

There is a fable titled, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”. That story reveals the folly of employing the same deceitful strategy one too many times. This November the Republicans might find they’ve written an extra chapter to this timeless classic.

That’s good news for America.

What a real shock Greco with another real long post blasting Republicans. You realize that Bush is serving two terms the GOP would take that everyday of the week.

your candidate obama is the one avoiding issues, saying change over and over again is NOT talking about an issue.