I love New Republic, tons of great writers. Contributing to the quickly growing collection of reflections on the GOP's total fail to produce a decent candidate, this one by Ed Kilgore contains a real gem of a quote,
Whatever their problems, polarization has given Republicans a virtually unshakable base in both popular and electoral votes. They could run a candidate in clown makeup for president—and in 2012, they might have, judging from the party's other leading primary candidates—and still win 45 percent of the vote and 150 electoral votes.