GEORGE W. BUSH has gotten off to a strong start, with a formidable cabinet and a firm idea of what he wants to do as president. But conservatives thirsty for change must remember that to use political power, we must maintain that power. Idealists on the right need to be hard-headed and realistic.

The inconvenient truth is that while President-elect Bush won the election, Republicans lost the campaign. We got fewer votes, lost Senate incumbents, and failed to carry important swing states. The Democrats know this, and like sleeping crocodiles they lie in wait for the 2002 elections. Whether Republicans enjoy a decade of conservative power — or a heady but brief two years of presidential rule with a congressional majority — will depend on how well the Bush administration navigates the next year.