Therein lies the necessity of a GOP nominee who knows the traps Washington sets for Republican presidents - and who can be counted on to fight for radical reform.
Fixing the Pentagon requires more than just tough talk. We need to replace a broken procurement and personnel system erected by successive administrations and congresses that delivers far too little bang for our buck. We also need to shift the balance at the Pentagon away from lawyers and toward warriors - ending politically correct rules of engagement that endanger our troops. This will take a fight.
Fixing the State Department means more than just cheerleading the embedded bureaucracy there and seeking more funds, as has all too often been the case with recent secretaries of state. For decades, presidents of both parties have dealt with State's many deficiencies by taking important issues away from the department. But in today's world, marked by high-stakes political contests and violent episodes where we have no ground presence, we need functioning agencies that understand foreign political developments. This will take a fight.
We also need to reconfigure radically our intelligence instruments, recreating political warfare tools available to presidents in previous conflicts. That is the best way to advance America's security interests while avoiding military conflict. But effective intelligence operations and tools to influence foreign political outcomes are inimical to those like President Obama who are inclined to apologize for America. Fixing this entails a messy fight with an entrenched bureaucracy as well as the liberal elite.
These are fights worth having. But endorsing change is not the same as achieving it. We both saw first-hand in the Bush administration how the Washington establishment can foil Republican presidents who express conservative principles, but who prove unwilling to confront the establishment and the bureaucracy.
Pundits and Mr. Gingrich's opponents have not shied from pointing out his flaws and the lengthy parade of people who wish him ill. But it is worth considering that these are the scars you get if you actually take on the Washington establishment. That willingness to fight has been lacking in our capital and our party. We need it badly in order to prevail in the struggles our country must now face.
