As Douthat surveys the extremely weak GOP field and turns his lonely eyes to Chris Christie, Jonathan Bernstein reminds us that the party has a bigger problem:
There’s no one else out there on the horizon who has been doing the sorts of things one has to do to run for the Republican nomination for president. Anyone else — Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, whoever — would be starting from scratch, very late in the game.
The other thing I’d say to Republicans disappointed in the current choices…is this: What you’re upset with isn’t the candidate — it’s the party. It’s inconceivable that anyone could get the Republican nomination while using anything but solid Tea Party rhetoric on pretty much every issue. They’re all going to claim that taxes should never, ever, ever be raised no matter what, that half of what the government does is evil or unconstitutional or whatever, that the scientific consensus on climate is some sort of crazed conspiracy, and so on down the line…That’s what the Republican Party is right now, and that’s what their nominee is going to say. So no saviors need apply.
The Dish 