Flaming Republicans

Quote of the Day:

So the question is, will 2012 be the Republican version of [the Democrats'] 1972 or the Republican version of [the Democrats'] 1984? They could nominate a base hero like Michele Bachmann or Sarah Palin or Newt Gingrich and go down in epic flames [1972 - McGovern]. Or they could nominate a worthy timeserver like Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty and go down in flames [1984 - Mondale].

Or, of course, they could pray for some kind of gigantic global disaster — maybe an economic collapse, an oil spike, or a drawn-out hostage crisis — in which case they can win with anybody. That seems like a pretty weak hope, but right now the fever dreams of the GOP base are so debilitating that it's hard to see them coming together and beating Barack Obama any other way.

-Kevin Drum, on the despair the Republicans seem to be suffering over their 2012 presidential prospects.