Dick Cheney vs. Colin Powell

Dick Cheney is moving on from his fight against President Obama, said Michael Gerson in The Washington Post, and taking aim at a fellow Republican—Colin Powell. The men served, respectively, as vice president and secretary of state in the same administration, but they have become “strange representatives of the ideological poles of Republicanism.” Cheney is attacking Powell as too liberal—but it’s Powell’s call for a more flexible and open party “Republicans should be listening to.”

Cheney’s the one with the right idea for getting Republicans back on track, said Patrick Buchanan in RealClearPolitics. His prescription is based on eight years of success, both winning elections and keeping America safe. "The Republican Party needs to get off the psychiatrist's couch, and stand up and fight for what it believes.”

The man who really outlined the philosophy Republicans should embrace, said Frank Donatelli in The Washington Times, was Ronald Reagan. The late president was clearly “the most successful conservative politician of the last half-century,” but he “was also pragmatic and sought to build coalitions with a wide variety of people. His conservatism was never threatening, but inclusive and optimistic,” and that’s what his party needs now.

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