1928. The last time the Republicans won an election for the White House without a George Bush or Richard Nixon on the party's ticket.

Credit Chris Matthews and the Hardball crew at MSNBC for this statement of the obvious, which draws an 80-year span of elections dominated by just a couple of names in GOP politics.

(OK, Nixon had a little help from Dwight D. Eishenhower in the 50s. And yes, the former President Bush's vice presidency had an awful lot to do with that top of the ticket fellow, Ronald Reagan. But facts are facts.)

Here's a simple way to understand the Republican descent: The party of Teddy the Rough Rider has become the party of Joe the Plumber.

Those who argue that people lack pride in the country and its history because they lack awareness of it might be startled to learn that those with less education - which can safely be equated with less knowledge - are most likely to express pride in the country's history. More awareness of Canada's history may reduce pride in the country rather than augment it.