THE LONG BLIP: The Dems' depression probably goes deeper than Roberts. The American left insists that the seeming conservative ascendency in American politics is little more than a temporary blip on the radar screen. Let's do some quick math. A quarter century has passed since Ronald Reagan got elected in 1980. Twenty-five years prior to that takes us to 1955. Eisenhower was a first-term president and the radical 60s weren't even a possibility. So if what began with Ronald Reagan was a blip, it's been hanging around for a while. Let's be clear. The left believes itself entitled to govern this country's institutions. The preening narcissism of the cultural left is too deeply entrenched to allow for the possibility that the Reagan Revolution represented a realignment as fundamental as FDR's. So the left must continue to believe all of the following:

Reagan won in 1980 only because Carter was a poor candidate faced with a lousy economy and a bad break in Iran.

Reagan got re-elected only because Mondale was a hideous candidate.

Bush got elected in 1988 only because Dukakis made Mondale seem appealing by comparison.

Clinton's elections in 1992 and 1996 represented America's reaffirmation of liberalism. (False: Bush would have gotten re-elected if Perot hadn't run in 1992. Clinton got re-elected because he governed as a centrist, taking pages from the GOP's play book on balanced budgets and welfare reform. Plus, Dole was a weak candidate.)

George W. Bush won in 2000 because "the Supreme Court stole the election."

Bush's re-election was bogus because Kerry really won Ohio (those machines did him in).

So you see, the so-called conservative triumph is just a blip — a too-long, unfortunate mistake. The social revolution that began in the 1960s will succeed, the hard left insists. The apparent ascendency of conservatism is about to come to an end. And when it does, the left will again call the shots — this is what they deeply believe. For now, they intend to continue to try to frustrate the president and GOP congressional leaders at every turn. Because they are the rightful leaders of this country and this culture. You idiot conservatives will pay, and soon. They'll do whatever damage they feel they need to do to advance their mission. The hard left will go all out against Jones, against Rove, against American success in Iraq, against Social Security and tax reform, against — everything. The best evidence is the four-letter tone of their scorched earth campaign. Rage. They're angriest at the American people as a whole, though most of the time they succeed in hiding this. But sometimes the curtain gets pulled back and we manage to hear their unpolished truth:

"The Dumbest People on the Face of the Earth" —Michael Moore