New York Times and the Republican meltdown

In its attempt to paint the direst of scenarios for Republicans in '08, the New York Times interviews moderate Repubs and turns the doom and gloom knob up to 11.

WASHINGTON, April 10 — Republican leaders across the country say they are growing increasingly anxious about their party’s chances of holding the White House, citing public dissatisfaction with President Bush, the political fallout from the war in Iraq and the problems their leading presidential candidates are having generating enthusiasm among conservative voters.

Some other snippets:

-"party leaders expressed worry"

-"signs of despondency among party members"

-“My level of concern and dismay is very, very high,” said Mickey Edwards.

-"I just don’t know how they can run hard enough or fast enough to escape the gravitational pull of the Bush administration"

-“We don’t have any candidates in the field now who are compelling,” Mr. Edwards said, adding: “It’s going to be a tough year for us.”

-"The Republicans made their comments a day before Senator John McCain of Arizona, once the party’s presumed front-runner, is to give a speech intended to revitalize his troubled candidacy.

-evidence of Republican despair

-"“I would say a lot of people are not turned on because they don’t see a lot of bright spots out there,”

-widespread apprehension

-“Right now, our enemy is ourselves.”

-notes of optimism did not erase the overall anxiety pervading the interviews

-“It’s a dying administration,” Mr. Steele said. “There’s a fatigue factor and there’s a rubbing-off when it’s not very smart to be closely associated with such low ratings.”

-Republican malaise

Funny, Adam Nagourney, one of the authors of the piece, was accused of bein all doomy and gloomy on Dems in '04.