I just want to say right now that I don't believe in a permanent Democratic majority. I think that a similar insistence was one of the reasons why the GOP veered so badly off track. Power corrupts, and the longer you stay in power, the more you get corrupted. Fires are actually a part of the lifecycle of a forest, and so must losses be a part of any healthy party or political movement, as they provide an opportunity to unload dead wood and to reexamine a party's direction.
Such a goal also misses the point of political power. If one's desire is to stay in power forever, one is going to make decisions that are going to keep one's self in power rather than out of ideological conviction or an attempt to change the world. As it turned out, this is exactly what the GOP did--any pretense at Goldwaterite conservatism is ridiculous. The embrace of unconservative ideas, like the prescription drug giveaway, neoconservatism and the bailout seem like odd things for a true adherent of limited government to embrace, but they seem like totally natural things for a cynical power-grabber to embrace. Viewed through this lens, the last eight years become immediately comprehensible, and it explains why Bush did other things like signing McCain-Feingold and trying immigration reform. Why a conservative would want a massive giveaway to prescription drug companies is a real question, but why would a president who got gazillions of dollars from these people help them out? That's a no-brainer.
One hopes that Obama understands this, and that his administration will not only try to remain politically powerful (this is important, after all) but will also fight to improve the country in ways that will be difficult to dismantle.
