But both prospects grow dimmer by the day. Even if Bush triumphs at the GOP convention in August, it's still a long, long way to November. Republicans lost the last two presidential elections with candidates the right disdained. Imagine where Democrats would be without the fervent support of organized labor and minorities. That's the fate of Republicans when the right deserts them.
Republicans require more than conservative votes.
They also need an army of conservative volunteers who will dial phones, ring doorbells and shout themselves hoarse at rallies. Running as the heir of Ronald Reagan, President Bush fooled us in 1988. After four years of an administration that gave us a major tax hike, American troops in Somalia and David Souter on the Supreme Court, he couldn't repeat the deception in 1992. This year conservatives could have an alternative they've lacked in the last two presidential elections - that is, if Pat Buchanan makes it on to the November ballot as the Reform Party candidate. There are several things Bush could do to shore up conservative support, short of changing his last name.