Since the boss has already called it, we might as well go ahead and assign blame. Though there’s plenty of blame to go around, I place the bulk of it on Bush. He killed the Reagan coalition.
That coalition has consisted of the religious right, small-l libertarians and other small government types. Likewise with people who are strong on national defense.
Since getting elected, he’s let spending get out of control, enacted a massive prescription drug benefit in an already bankrupt Medicare program, signed McCain-Feingold, and on and on. He also insisted that his tax cuts stay in place, regardless of the deficit.
The only group that can be satisfied with Bush is the religious right and they alone are not enough. In fact, keeping them probably cost the coalition votes after the Schiavo affair.
This is all most disappointing for people who favor smaller government.
