Yesterday, as I was driving home for lunch, I heard a bit of the NPR interview with David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush.

The question was something about whether Bush would now try to bridge the deep divide between Left and Right, or whether he would cater to his power base.

To my disbelief, Frum replied that Bush had been bridging the gap all throughout his first term, by making symbolic gestures such as naming Federal buildings after Democrats, and by breaking with his party on spending.

Wow! Taking the country from its largest budget surplus in history to its deepest deficit isn't reckless prodigality, it's an attempt to heal the nation!

Never mind that the spending couldn't have happened without the participation of the Republican-controlled Congress, so it's not like it was that much of a break from the party.

Whatever happened to conservative principles like fiscal sanity, smaller government, the protection of privacy, the sanctity of states' rights, and keeping the government out of people's private lives? Oh, right, 9/11 happened. That's the card to trump all criticism! Besides, they still had the worthy cause of homophobia to keep a solid hold on the red states. As long as Joe Sixpack's afraid that same-sex marriages will destroy civilization, everything else can be forgiven.