Lazy Gopher Pachyderm

Yes it has been quite a while. After all, this isn’t Lazy Gopher Pachyderm for nothing. And I can’t for sure say why the lack of posting. Pressing holiday matters? Post-election fatigue? Results disappointment? Lack-of-leadership frustration? The rise of ‘Realists in Wonderland’ (like the Iraq Study Group)? The cluelessness in the GOP leadership on why they got trounced in the election? The lost opportunity of positioning in the lame duck session before the Christmas break?

Any and all of the above will do, I suppose. The political landscape thus far adds up to a forecast of a very unproductive 2008. Things can change rapidly and the GOP just might re-discover what got them the majority in 1994, but I doubt it. There are some beacons of hope like Sen. McConnell as minority leader, and House Speaker to be Nancy Pelosi’s attempt at herding her caucus cats into her barn (with amusing results), but not enough to give the party a winning direction and hope to the GOP base.

I’m tempted to say wake me up when the GOP leadership gets a clue (hint: when the Gerald Ford wing of the party starts getting upset and dismissive like they were toward Gingrich in the early ‘90s or Reagan in the ‘80s, you’ll know we’re back on the road to recovery).

Perhaps we just need to generate a few laughs. The Baker-Hamilton report on Iraq would be a good start if the stakes weren’t so gol-darned high. But Jimmy Carter is back on the scene and he’s always worth a chuckle and groan.