One explanation for the Bush campaign's recent slump

According to 18th-century American politician Fisher Ames:

A monarchy is a merchantman which sails well, but will sometimes strike on a rock, and go to the bottom; a republic is a raft which will never sink, but then your feet are always wet.

When a political party is dominated by people who obediently follow orders, it can fade fast when the order-givers blunder.