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John J. Pitney on National Review talks about "The Perfect Defeat" that gave birth to Republican renaissance and Reaganomics.

Representative Tom Cole (R., Okla.), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, made a revealing but little-noticed comment to the New York Times. He said of the presidential race: “I don’t need the nominee to win; I just need him to be competitive enough that we can win behind him in the places that should be ours. I need him to be Gerald Ford.”Conservative readers may have blanched at that name. But Cole was not talking about Ford’s policies. He was referring to the 1976 election. In the aftermath of their huge losses in the 1974 midterm, Republicans feared for their party’s survival. And early in the 1976 campaign, they appeared to be dinosaurs looking at an incoming asteroid. Ford was heading for a wipe-out that would doom dozens of GOP lawmakers. Yet by Election Day, he had pulled almost even with Carter, enabling House and Senate Republicans to hold their own.

I sure hope Republicans aren't planning to lose narrowly in '08. That would be quite a disappointment and would endanger our war effort. Just listen to what the should-be President said at CPAC.

"I entered this race because I love America and because I love America, in this time of war, I feel I now have to stand aside for our party and for our country."

If McCains wins in 2008, he has Romney to thank.