We’ve seen what happens when promising young conservatives (see Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin) are thrust into the spotlight prematurely. I think that’s a microcosm of what happened to the GOP.

Have you ever heard about people who win the lottery? It’s the worst thing that could happen to you. You almost always end up broke and divorced—and sometimes dead. Your odds of going bankrupt actually increase when you win a lottery. There are a lot of potential reasons for this, including guilt over acquiring money you didn’t actually earn. But, I suspect, the biggest reason is the same reason a lot of talented young athletes squander all of their money: It comes too easy, too soon. Rather than growing into your success, you luck into it.