Dogma Or Pragmatism?

On Meet The Press this morning an interesting conversation ensued between authors Peggy Noonan and Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Noonan said the current GOP battle all boils down to a "search for the soul of the Republican Party" and she predicted it would be wrenching, protracted and difficult - not an easy road to victory.
But Goodwin saw a somewhat sunnier scenario and said that the prospect of Democratic victory would unite Republicans of all stripes and force them to close ranks behind someone who showed true leadership qualities. In other words, political pragmatism would prevail once again.
On the same program Tom Brokaw said that what we are witnessing is "the death of dogma." Brokaw explained that in rejecting pure ideology "people want clarity, tone, solutions."
And this seems to make sense when you consider what William Kristol has written over at The Weekly Standard. Viewing the current lineup of candidates for the GOP Kristol says: "the conservative commentariat should take a deep breath, be a bit less judgmental about these individuals--and realize that there is not likely to be a second Reagan. . . So conservatives might think of John McCain as our potential TR, Mike Huckabee as our potential FDR, and Mitt Romney as our potential JFK. Support the one you prefer. But don't work yourself into a frenzy against the others. Let the best man emerge from a challenging primary process."