On RCP this morning, Heather Wilhelm reviews "Grand New Party," the new book by Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam. She also conducted an interesting discussion with Douthat about the book. I highly recommend both.

Here's an excerpt from the interview with Douthat:

RCP: What inspired you to write "Grand New Party"?

DOUTHAT: The initial inspiration came when we were coming off of the 2004 elections. Bush had pulled off a really narrow victory, and yet there was a lot of Republican triumphalism about the whole thing. Reihan and I were looking at that same political landscape, and, rather than reasons to celebrate, we thought there were a lot of significant, deep-seated weaknesses in the Republican brand. Many of these problems had to do with the voters Bush had counted on to bring him through in 2004--working-class Americans.

Unfortunately for us as Republicans, the events that have occurred since we embarked on the project seem to have vindicated our sense of pessimism.

RCP: The political dynamics of the 2008 election are still unfolding. Any recent developments that you wish you could have included in the book?

DOUTHAT: We finished the book before the primary season began, and, looking back, nothing in the primaries really undercut what was already in the book. In fact, a lot of what happened in the primaries tends to support the idea of the struggle for this working-class base. You have the surprising rise of Mike Huckabee, for instance. I think the Huckabee campaign really vindicated the idea that there is a real, solid base for a different kind of Republican. And, of course, you have the example of how the Democratic primary came down to a battle for working-class votes in places like Pennsylvania.

We argue in the book that the 2006 elections sort of left the country teetering between the two parties--and, since then, I have to say I've become more pessimistic about the GOP's chances in 2008. Politically, I think Republicans may be in even worse shape than when we started writing.

Read the rest here.