I heard a report that 80% of Americans think the nation is on the wrong track and more than 60% think Bush is a suck ass president. So, why then, is half the country excited by the idea of yet another Republican administration? What Democrat hasn't been pondering that question?

A possible and totally logical answer came to me today. In fact, the answer was staring me in the face. The reason is that while a clear majority of  Americans blame Bush for the state of the country, they don't blame conservatism. That's the problem.
 
I think we saw a hint of this several years ago when it became clear the Iraq war was going bad. First out of the gate to blame Bush and isolate conservatism for blame were the Neocon talking-heads on TV. They immediately moved to separate  their conservative foreign policy from Bush's failures. They blamed the Iraq war problems on poor execution and mismanagement, not as a result of a flawed policy.   

Disconnecting Bush's failures from being viewed as conservatism's failures meant that an extreme far-right Sarah Palin could not only be accepted, but could be accepted with great enthusiasm and warmth. I see no other rational way of explaining the excitement of conservatives over a candidate they just met.  It makes sense that McCain doesn't generate much Republican excitement, he isn't perceived as conservative enough. 

Conservatism isn't seen as the problem, just Bush the man. To do this they have to ignore that fact that Bush has been the most conservative president since Herbert Hoover. Conservatives are nothing if not stubborn.
If this is indeed the primary reason this race is essentially tied we are in danger of having these Reagan idolizing conservatives bring us yet another disastrous Republican presidency. They do not perceive that Reagan conservatism itself is at the root of the nation's problems.