It was February of 2009. President Obama had been in office less than a full month. His approval rating was over 60 and nearly 60% of the House and Senate seats were held by Democrats. The country seem poised on the edge of a new era, perhaps even another New Deal.
Not a few mainstream Republicans believed their party needed to do some serious soul-searching, house-cleaning and image-adjusting. A task force at the Republican National Committee was hard at work on just such a set of recommendations.
But there was another spirit in the land as well. CONT.
Ron Elving, NPR News