What Would Reagan Have Done Without Carter?

Is John McCain’s win in Florida tantamount to the defeat of conservatism?
The two men who led the charge against the Arizona senator sound flustered.
Rush Limbaugh offered a non-concession speech, effectively rubbishing the idea that his flock abandoned him in droves. (McCain’s invocation of Ronald Reagan suggests the senator has in fact come to the Maha Rushie.)
Sean Hannity conceded that McCain may have been Reaganism’s torch-bearer all along. Their sarcasm couldn’t conceal their inability to grasp the moment.
Among social, fiscal and national security conservatives, McCain probably drew support rather preponderantly from the last. Even there, the “Senator Amnesty” tag must have siphoned away some votes. Don’t waste time doing the math.
If McCain is unstoppable, so be it. Let the liberal media promote McCain until he becomes the Republican nominee they would love to destroy in November.
A McCain defeat would serve the conservatives in two ways. Reagan needed Jimmy Carter. Without the national malaise of the late 1970s, Reaganism wouldn’t have acquired the moral resilience to confront and overcome the challenges it did.
Secondly, a McCain defeat would teach Republicans to proffer the genuine article the next time.
Should McCain defeat his Democratic rival, well, he could at least have a chance to prove the conservative credentials he now seems to be so religiously invoking.