For the 150 years of its existence, the Republican party has really only had two faces – Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. Other visages have intruded, Teddy Roosevelt, Nixon and two Bushes, but their legacies have been mixed.

For the past 80 years, the Democrats have also really only had two – FDR and JFK. LBJ made his mark, in the FDR tradition, as did Wilson and Truman in foreign affairs, and it is too early to tell if Barack Obama will give it a lasting one. But the inference is that parties need a face.