As far as I can tell, there are four kinds of Republicans left in country. The so-called neo-conservatives, who believe in aggressive, interventionist foreign policy. The so-called paleo-conservatives, who believe in a xenophobic, isolationist foreign policy and a xenophobic, isolationist domestic policy. And two categories that are underreported, so I will have to give them names.

The third category is what is commonly called the Christian Right. They are often confused with the paleos and the neos, but in fact, they are very different. Pat Buchanan is a paleo-conservative - he believes we shouldn't interfere with the Middle East, and when we do we are probably doing it as part of a Zionist plot to favor Israel. Tom DeLay, who is what I will call a Christian conservative (in fact, the prototypical Christian conservative), believes the same thing, but thinks it's great because it is going to lead to Armageddon and the rise of Christ. His faction is not insignificant, though they suffer the disability of lacking any cognitive reasoning.

The fourth category is nearly extinct - and hence, is the reason the Democrats are destined to take over the country soon - the Centrist conservatives. Here we have some of the most reasonable people the country has produced - John McCain, Colin Powell, George H.W. Bush and Jim Jeffords. Oh, that's right, Senator Jeffords has abandoned the Republican Party. And the rest of the country will likely soon follow him.

Why? Because the Republican Party has abandoned the middle ground. The middle ground wins election. The middle ground is generally correct. The middle ground is where America lies.

Most of America does not believe we should close off our borders and throw out all the Mexicans. Most of America does not believe we should invade every country we disagree with and occupy them for the next decade until they think like us. Most of the country does not want to hasten the coming of Armageddon. Most of the country thinks we should work with the rest of the world in bringing democracy, human rights and order to the globe. Most of the country thinks we should have a mid-sized government that is neither too obtrusive nor too indifferent to our plight. Most of the country is ... reasonable.

George Bush the 41st believed in these things. He did not do well in expressing his concern for the people's plight and he did not do well in keeping his (over)promises on the size of the government. But, generally, he had a decent beat on what the country and the world considered reasonable, especially in foreign policy.

So, where does his son stand? He certainly does not believe in his dad's new world order. According to the new world order (NWO), you do not invade other countries unless they have attacked first, period! Preventive wars and first strikes are an anathema to the new world order. The NWO requires global cooperation and working with the United Nations, not casting them off as irrelevant bystanders. Why no one points out the incredibly wide gulf between the foreign policies of the first and second Bush administrations is beyond me. George W. Bush has completely decimated the international precedence his father set.

George W. Bush, the candidate promised to be a paleo-conservative. He said America needed to be a humble country that did not intervene in the internal affairs of other countries. Out the door. He said America needed to stay home and take care of its own instead of venturing into foreign political quagmires. Out the door. He said that America should not do nation building. Out the door.

George Bush, the 43rd, has done all of these things under the tutelage and careful supervision of the neo-conservatives. He invades countries willy-nilly depending on what Cheney and Wolfowitz happen to be whispering into his ear at the time. He boldly ventures into other nation's internal political affairs and sets up shop to build their nation to his liking.

So, is he a paleo or neo conservative? But wait, it's not that simple. He's also a born-again Evangelical Christian. He agrees with his old friend Tom DeLay on a great number of issues. There should be no condoms or birth-control talk domestically or for foreign aid purposes. He wants to help stop AIDS, but only if Jesus hitches along for the ride. There should be help on domestic issues from religious organizations. How can we stop drug dependency and poverty if Jesus isn't in the co-pilot seat?

Remember, this is a man who actively believes God chose him to lead the country at this time. He is not reticent about this topic, he readily admits Jesus has chosen him. It's hard not to call this man a Christian conservative.

One thing, we can be sure he is not, however, is a centrist conservative. They're out the door.  

The fact is George W. Bush doesn't know what he is. He probably hasn't given it a second thought. Most of the time he is being pushed and pulled in directions he is not even aware of. He is the perfect playground for the axis of Republican evil to do battle over. Who will get to control the mind and policies of the easily malleable George W. Bush today? Depends, who is seeing him today - DeLay or Wolfowitz?

Meanwhile, the center has quietly drifted over and fallen in the laps of the Democrats -- and they don't even know it. Half of the Democratic presidential candidates are running hard to the left. Nancy Pelosi is talking about going back to the liberal roots of the party. Gephardt is talking about nationalizing healthcare again. Look up, look up! The center just fell in your lap. Pick it up and run!

One day soon America is going to wake up and drink the coffee instead of the Kool-aid, and realize that Bill Clinton guided us into the sweet spot of American history. No domestic turmoil, no unemployment, no inflation, no deflation, no deficits, no grand wars, no trouble. How did he do it? He ran to the middle!

You work with the UN but you don't get mired in their bureaucracy. Does anyone remember that we invaded Serbia without UN permission - and caught no flak over it! That's called diplomacy.

You try to end the era of big government without starting the era of big deficits. How many times can we cut taxes until we realize the federal government needs some money, to at least pay the Republicans running the place? Is there any economic scenario where George W. Bush wouldn't recommend further tax cuts? The man only sees in black and white. Black and white lie on the extremes of the color spectrum, not in the middle. What lies in the middle is the common sense notion that sometimes tax cuts are helpful to the economy, and sometimes they are not.

So, the John McCains of the Republicans are adrift within their own party, not knowing where to dock their own boat. The Colin Powells are adrift within their administration. And the Jim Jeffords have already sunk the boat, grabbed the life jacket and starting swimming towards the Democratic shore. Pull up next to them, and pick them up.

America is not an extreme country. A party that runs to the extreme is going to pull a Bo Jackson and run themselves right out of the park. In extreme times (read post 9/11), extreme policies can take hold fairly well. But extreme times don't last, and the party that gets stuck holding the potato when those times run out is the one that's going to be left out in the rain for a long time to come.

Democrats need to be undeterred by the hard times and hold on for dear life to the middle. The current will inevitably bring the country back to them. And when it does and they can claim to the title of the protector of the middle, they will be incredibly difficult to unseat for a long time to come.  

Then, the Republicans will be shaking their heads in disbelief wondering what happened to their lovely black and white world. It was a simple time that called for a simple leader. But most times are not simple, and more often than not, people cannot afford the luxury of a simplistic leader.

The Democrats need to steer the boat in the direction of the coming tide, not the present flow. They need to be there for all the people who have been discarded by the Republican Party, set out to drift because they were not extreme enough. And when that tsunami of the center comes rolling along, the Republicans will wonder how they let it get away from them.

History is our guide. The tide will turn - it always does. The question is whether the Democrats will be smart enough to receive the windfall when history turns the country back to its rightful place - the center.