Reaganesque

The New Republic's Jon Chait on the absolution of Fred Thompson.

The best evidence for this is the equanimity with which conservatives have accepted the news that Thompson once worked as an abortion-rights lobbyist. Milder revelations about Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney were met with howls of outrage. The news that Thompson actively lobbied to weaken abortion restrictions, on the other hand, has been met with a shrug.

The chinks in Reagan's conservative armor were similarly overlooked.