Bush now the embarrassing uncle to Republicans

Gary Younge had an interesting column up on the Guardian last week suggesting Bush's dream of realigning American politics is now completely over, and he is seen as a pariah among Republicans.

Bush's problems stem from his method of politics.

Bush did not create the partisan split in America; he inherited it, just as Al Gore would have if he had won the supreme court case in 2000. But while the split was broad (the difference was less than 5% in 13 states from New Mexico to New Hampshire), it was Bush who made it deep and rancorous.

For unlike Thatcher or Reagan he sought to achieve his ends not by exploiting division in order to forge a new, more rightwing consensus but rather to exploit new divisions in order to crush a growing consensus. The majority of the country was, for example, pro-choice and in favour of granting equal rights to gay couples in almost all areas. So the Bush administration chose to leverage gay marriage and late-term abortion - two issues that could act as a wedge - to rally his base. Crude in execution and majoritarian in impulse, it sought not to win over new converts but simply to mobilise dormant constituencies. His legacy will be rightwing policies - but not a more rightwing political culture.

By choosing wedge issues, Bush and Rove hoped to peel away Hispanics, Catholics, and white married women, who traditionally vote Democratic. But his failure to govern -- think the politicization of basic government functions, think Iraq, think Katrina -- kept these constituencies from considering him seriously. Add to that the dust up over immigration reform, and there is no remaining rationale for the Republican Party. "In 2006 Catholics backed the Democrats; white women broke even. According to a Wall Street Journal poll, Americans would prefer the next president to be a Democrat by 52% to 31%."

Now, with his big plan in tatters, a track record of unmitigated disasters, and his Boy Genius gone, Bush is all alone.

There is even talk that Republicans might not invite Bush to their convention. "If they're smart, no," the Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio told Newsweek. "Especially if things don't change in Iraq, we'll have the problem the Democrats had in 1968 with Lyndon Johnson and Vietnam. The question becomes: where do we hide the president?"

Poor George. Without any successes in his life to point to, he now finds himself alone, as the Republican Party -- and the country -- try to figure out how to undo the damage he's done.

I guess the GOP is deciding the first order of business is to hide the source of their embarrassment. Now if only they'll take away the keys.