He was popular enough among conservatives that we by and large were cajoled into just barely supporting him and his ilk (e.g. Tom DeLay, etc.) enough to keep them in the majority.
If instead of just limping along with quasi-conservatives we had given support to true conservatives, then we may have lost some of the previous battles, but we would more likely win the ultimate war with liberalism.
What is happening with the Republican Party now is similar to what is happening with the economy: both Republicans and Democrats did things to keep the bubble from bursting sooner than it did, but it burst anyway.
Unless and until Republicans get back to being sound managers of smaller governments then whatever bubble of approval they receive will soon pop.
why the hell did we nominate him in the first place? Because he had a machine? i would love to know why, was it because McLame was his only real opponent? In many senses, he was our own Bill Clinton, a man who could come off moderate to enough, a young, Southern Governor. We see where slickness takes us now.