I need to ponder a while. Maybe we all do.

Sorry to make this so personal, but 45 years ago, when I wasn’t even quite 12 years old, I mailed in a $1 contribution to Ronald Reagan’s presidential nomination campaign. In one way or another, I’ve never left the political-ideational battlefield since then, always in the conservative vineyards. One might think, therefore, that I would be full of advice today on where conservatism, the Republican Party, and the country should go from here.