More on '04: Yes, the GOP is going to run to the center over the next year, in order to have items to tout in 2004, and also to steal some Dem thunder. But does that hurt the GOP, too? See Radley's take here on Democrats versus pseudo-Democrat-Republicans. The GOP has a historic opportunity waiting to be pissed away, now that it controls Congress, and they seem poised to piss it away. Heading for the center is the CW move, but it will depress base turnout. A lot of fairly conservative folks, who mainly don't give a crap about abortion, feel it's time to address Social Security and other budget-busting entitlements looming ahead, apply meaningful tax code reform, and dismantle the bureaucracy that eats such a large portion of those taxes. They won't be sated by minor policy tweaks, targeted tax credits, and increased entitlement spending. It comes down to the same question I ask people who moan about Bush's "right-wing" agenda: Can you name a policy supported by Bush that could not be supported safely by a good chunk of the DLC? I sure can't, to my great dismay.