As the Republican Party continues its pilgrimage through the desert, its leaders may be missing the oasis for the vale of tears.
The answer to the party's woes isn't a revamped Web site (GOP.com) offering - wowser! - really cool social networking platforms.
The answer won't be found in the sudden realization that 83 percent of young people 18 to 24 have an online profile - or other late-breaking revelations that merely reinforce the perception of the GOP as woefully behind the curve.
The answer is ... drum roll, please ... women.
If the GOP is serious about expanding the party, it's time for the men to let the pros take over. As the saying goes: If you need something done, hire a busy woman. Or, as the White House Project puts it: "Add women, change everything."
In the past few months, several conservative women have emerged as candidates and critics to challenge the notion that the GOP is the party of men. They're also putting to rest any thought that Sarah Palin is the female face of the party.
The McCain campaign had the right idea; it just picked the wrong woman.
First up in this new league of their own are two celebrity entrepreneurs. Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, is running for governor of California. And Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO, plans to challenge California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer. Neither woman has any political experience beyond advising and stumping for Sen. John McCain during his last presidential run, but that would seem a bonus to an incumbent-weary nation.
Ms. Fiorina, the first woman to run a Fortune 20 company, has lost some of her early luster with Republican voters, according to a recent Field Poll, but that's likely a reflection of her reduced visibility recently while undergoing breast cancer treatments. A close adviser says Ms. Fiorina, who is "definitely running," is on the mend and expects to be locked and loaded in a couple of weeks.
Billionaire Whitman is running a tight race against two opponents for the Republican nomination, spending much of her own money along the way. If she wins - and then defeats Democrat Jerry Brown (big ifs) - she would become one of only four Republican women governors.
This deficit in high office is both a taint on the GOP and a reflection of the broader assumption that Republicans are monolithically against women's rights. Specifically, the party's pro-life platform alienates pro-choice women, as well as moderates, who otherwise might find common cause with conservative principles.
