The Republican Party is unpopular because it’s more interested in pleasing Rush’s ghosts than actual people. The party is leaderless right now because nobody has the guts to step outside the rigid parameters enforced by the radio jocks and create a new party identity.

Great article in the New York Times about the myth of the power allegedly held by the Limbaughs and Becks in the media. They pander to a lot of listeners, but it doesn't translate to votes or action. As soon as the GOP realizes this they can make themselves a better party.

Sadly, the article doesn't mention the same is true of the loud-mouthed media personalities on the left, such as Olbermann.

If both partys would ignore the blowhards at their far ends, they could focus more on reasoned debate and a centrist approach, which is ultimately where all compromise must take place.

At this country's formation, the Founding Fathers had far greater disagreement than we have today. Yet these men hammered out the Constitution; where is that sense of compromise today?