Five years ago the Republican Party and the conservative movement thought they were poised to monopolize power in America well beyond the political horizon. Epitomizing their hubris in those dark days was Grover Norquist, the conservative leader who liked to say that "the Republicans are looking at decades of dominance in the House and the Senate" and of maintaining regular control over the White House as well. Few commentators, pollsters or political scientists tried to quarrel with these confident prophecies from the right.