"If you're a football fan, you've seen it happen. A coach bursts into prominence by using offensive or defensive innovations to produce victory after victory, championship after championship. For a long time, he's regarded as one of the best. And then, something happens.
First it's an upset loss here and there. Then it's a decline to mere respectability or mediocrity. The coach fires assistants, widens his search for players and tries new schemes. But nothing helps. Soon, the onetime genius is a has-been, out of ideas and out of work.
But it doesn't happen only in football. It also happens in politics. For a long time, the Republican Party had a proven formula for presidential elections, winning seven out of 10 times from 1968 through 2004. But after two straight losses, it suddenly looks badly out of touch with the electorate.".........................
Has a pattern developed or is each election different? Romney closed the McCain gap in 2012, but it wasn't enough. I still think the GOP can win a national election, but they really need to choose the right guy and it wouldn't hurt for the Democrats to choose a radical lefty.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
