Since then conservatives led America’s rehabilitation, cleansing our national soul and recapturing the moral high ground. We proved the left wrong at every turn. Or simply watched as liberals drove their corrupt, immoral and intellectually bankrupt philosophy off the cliff.

Now, it’s actually kinda cool to be conservative. Maybe even chic. Think about it. Twenty-two years ago, America was liberal. Very liberal. Every aspect of American life was liberal. Even conservatives were liberal. Now, liberals have to skulk about, apologizing, deflecting and denying virtually everything they ever stood for. Meanwhile, conservatives hold our heads high.

As it should be. Because we were right all along.

Sadly, liberal lessons are learned in great tragedy, while conservative lessons are usually steeped in great triumph. McNamara’s body bag attrition in Vietnam taught us liberals can’t be trusted to run a war. Ronald Reagan demonstrated how to scare an enemy into submission, and George H.W. Bush showed the proper way to wield a big stick. It took the 1995 Republican Congress to reform the failed liberal war on poverty, booting the dead weight off the dole and back to work. And every time we’ve cut taxes since 1960, the economy boomed and revenues rose. Look it up.

Clinton confirmed morality does matter, while Junior Bush proved solid conservative values create a foundation for great crisis leadership. And yes, September 11th slapped us back to our conservative roots as sniveling liberal cynicism was replaced by patriotism, God, flag, national defense and good old fashioned love-of-country.

But have conservatives won? Not exactly. Our national fling with the liberal floozy left America with a continuing socialist disease. We have an immense bureaucratic labyrinth of useless programs wrapped in a two trillion dollar budget. We still owe about 9 trillion dollars. And Jerry Springer still has a job. But the context has changed. From hippies to spotted owls, the liberal lexicon has become a dictionary for national derision. From Sharpton to Steinham, Carter to Clinton, liberals have become sad jokes, negative symbols of a failed ideology. We’ve memorized all their soundbytes and we know the proper retorts. America is no longer liberal.

Yet we aren’t quite conservative, yet. So where do conservatives go from here? Let’s start with George W. Bush. Hard core conservatives are whining, but he’s perfect for this moment of political consolidation. He simultaneously took pages from the Reagan and liberal playbooks, ignoring unwinnable battles while accepting incremental victories, pragmatically dragging the playing field back to the right. Liberals are flailing for traction. Meanwhile, as America discovers the depth of liberal failure, we are gradually moving the political argument back where it belongs: Conservatives vs. Libertarians.

That is the challenge of the modern conservative. In a free society, someone always feeds their self-aggrandizement by snatching your freedom. We must remember political battles are momentary, while political war is perpetual. Vigilance and commitment are essential to defend every political philosophy, or it’s nothing more than interesting water cooler talk. But isn’t this what it’s all about? Can there be any greater exhilaration than defending freedom? The satisfaction of vindication? The thrill of political victory?

The modern conservative should feel rewarded, considering how far we’ve come from the neo-communist 1970s to the middle-ground of the new century. However, to steal a liberal phrase, "we’ve come so far, but we have so far to go…."

At least we’re finally walking in the right direction. Just as long as we avoid a detour into that liberal flophouse.