Those much younger than I am may believe that if we just behave more like Ronald Reagan, the good natured optimist, then the world will see that we are really nice people with good intentions.  What they fail to realize, and what those who lived through the Reagan years know, is that during his administration he was often demonized by those in the media and the opposing party.  He was painted by his opponents as a dim witted war monger who wanted as many people as possible to be homeless and die of AIDS.  But Reagan was beloved by the majority of the American people because he was able to talk past (and above) the media to speak to them directly. 

When John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate many saw her way of communicating similar to that of Reagan.  She was able to speak the language of the common man.  Those wishing to disparage her would say she spoke the language only of the red(neck) states, but the truth is they only felt that way because so many of her opponents are far removed from everyday America.  They don’t realize that most Americans, not just those in the red states, could identify with Palin. 

There is no way to know for sure, but I betcha the campaign would have been much more successful if run Palin-style than the way McCain handlers did it.  Palin was itchin’ to answer every attack on her.  She did not shy away from the fight, but rather welcomed it as an opportunity to talk about what conservatives really believe.

 John Hawkins recently wrote that the Right needs to “play as dirty” as those on the Left.  “While the Right doesn't have to dip down into the sewer as far as the Left has, we do need to start giving them a taste of their own medicine, if only to make them think twice about the way they're treating our fellow conservatives.”

I would not say we need to fight “dirty,” but at the very least we should stop being worried about being seen as mean or nasty.  We (Republicans and conservatives) have learned that our opponents are going to do everything in their power to portray us that way, regardless of how inaccurate it is and we have to stop letting them get away with it.  We not only do not fight hard enough against the image, and the unfair (and often untrue) allegations and accusations in reaction to them, but we do nothing to preempt them. 

How the Republican Party and conservatives manage to do that is a big topic of discussion, but there is no doubt it is something they must do if they want any chance of regaining political power.