Flight of the Realists

Chuck Hagel disses John McCain's Russia policy. Secretary Rice's former number 3 hammers McCain/Palin on negotiating with Iran in the pages of Newsweek. Matthew Yglesias muses about a defection of Republican realists into the Democratic coalition. Daniel Drezner warns the GOP about "ideological overstretch."

Ilan Goldberg concludes that the Republican foreign policy establishment is already at an end - with most of the establishment's heavy hitters either endorsing Obama outright, or endorsing his approach to national security issues.

Goldberg writes:

The dirty little secret is that all of these pragmatic conservatives have more in common with Obama's world view and that of the progressive community as a whole than they do with McCain and Neoconservatism. Right now most of them are sticking with McCain because of old friendships and loyalties, a desire to stay out of politics, or because they are social and economic conservatives.

But don't be surprised if Powell's endorsement will encourage more of these pragmatic foreign policy conservatives to come over to the Democrats over the next few years.

Perhaps. I suspect that Obama could peel away more Republican realist support in the years to come if he governs pragmatically (provided, of course, that he wins the election). If he starts firing up the troop transports for Sudan - as some of his advisers and his running mate desire - I doubt you're going to see a huge swing of realist support.

Of course, realists may no longer be welcome in the GOP. Reflecting on the brewing war within conservative and Republican circles over a post-Bush future, Daniel Larison observes:

It is significant, and depressing, that the main battles of the current conservative pundit war seems to be focused around Sarah Palin and her critics and not around the Iraq war and the attendant loss of mainstream conservative credibility on foreign policy. That almost all of the people involved in the pundit war over the campaign and Palin are more or less in fundamental agreement about Iraq and the “surge” and seem to be largely in agreement about U.S. policies overseas is an impressive testament to the staying power of Bushism.

It is remarkable, when you think about it, that a party and a movement that claims to promote "limited government" would have so little patience for realism.