By wplog

Published Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008 | 12:04 p.m.

Updated Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 | 2:14 p.m.

Sean Hannity last night on Fox News was rather beside himself that Democrats actually believe the American public wants them not to renew the Bush tax cuts, to "retreat" in Iraq and to "nationalize" health care.

Of course, he's misrepresenting their positions, but even aside from that, he shows how the electorate's movement since 2004 doesn't seem to have registered with certain media and political figures. Here's the polling.

See the Iraq, budget and health care sections. Here are some numbers from the most recent polls, which I plucked quite easily.

Withdraw most American troops by 2009, or "retreating": 57 percent.

Repeal Bush tax cuts for rich or repeal all tax cuts: 61 percent.

Health care for all, or "nationalized" health care, is responsibility of federal government: 64 percent.

These are strong majorities.

Conservative intellectuals are acutely aware of these grim realities for the old Reagan coalition, and they've begun exploring its consequences. See for instance, David Brooks in this perceptive New York Times piece that condemns Mitt Romney to a bad defeat in November.

Or The Atlantic's Ross Douthat, here.

Republicans, to win, will need to nominate someone with significant crossover appeal, which means someone who will break with Republican orthodoxy, just as Bill Clinton broke with Democratic orthodoxy in 1992.

The Democrats are in a different spot. The public is with them on issues (see above). What they need is someone who won't screw up this opportunity.

So, as always, bet on the GOP.