Krugman - Bush Clones?

Most of the contenders for the Republican presidential nomination are little more than clones of George W. Bush in spite of his unpopularity. Paul Krugman explains there is a reason for this.
Don’t Blame Bush

I’ve been looking at the race for the Republican presidential nomination, and I’ve come to a disturbing conclusion: maybe we’ve all been too hard on President Bush.

No, I haven’t lost my mind. Mr. Bush has degraded our government and undermined the rule of law; he has led us into strategic disaster and moral squalor.

But the leading contenders for the Republican nomination have given us little reason to believe they would behave differently. Why should they? The principles Mr. Bush has betrayed are principles today’s G.O.P., dominated by movement conservatives, no longer honors. In fact, rank-and-file Republicans continue to approve strongly of Mr. Bush’s policies — and the more un-American the policy, the more they support it.

If the candidates want the nomination they must win the support of the base - that 28-33 percent of Americans who still support George W. Bush. The long term threat to America is not George W. Bush it is that 30% of the population who support his un-American agenda.

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