http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/bookclub/2006/... ===== 2 paragraphs from his essay ==============
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That much is straightforward, I think. But it also must be said that Bush incarnates certain potentials long embedded in movement conservatism, potentials that, in combination, add up to a whole drastically worse than the sum of the parts: ignorance of the larger world; deafness toward reason; vindictiveness toward dissidents; cronyism; systematic deception; fiscal recklessness; centralization of power and its abuses. Reagan began the process of conservative consolidation, but Bush has the energy, focus, and vindictiveness that Reagan lacked. He also, not least, had September 11.
The magic has worn thin, but never forget that base Bush is the voice of Bush’s base. Republican control of all branches of government has certainly afforded Bush the means to act on his tunnel vision. It’s a necessary condition. So are the Rove-Ailes-Atwater commitments to what Spiro Agnew (or wasn’t it elder literary statesman William Safire?) once called “positive polarization.” But the will of the bulldozer is essential to understanding the magnitude of the ruination that Bush has accomplished.
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