Will Republicans Break Their Pattern?

The Republican practice for determining a presidential nominee has long been to have a fight, then nominate whoever's turn it is to be the party's standard-bearer. It has been a relatively orderly, hierarchical process. And if Republicans behave accordingly next year, they will slug it out before nominating former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose turn it would seem to be. Certainly the last half-century would bear that out. In 1968, Republicans tapped former vice president and 1960 presidential nominee Richard Nixon, who won and then was renominated and reelected four years later. In 1976, President Gerald Ford won the nomination after a stiff challenge from former California Gov. Ronald Reagan. In 1980, it was Reagan's turn, as he turned back a large field of contenders. After Reagan was nominated and elected for a second time in 1984, Republicans chose his vice president, George H. W. Bush, in 1988 over a big field of rivals including Sen. Bob Dole. In 1996, after another Bush nomination in 1992, it was Dole's turn. There was a big field in 2000, but it became clear