by Patrick  J.  Buchanan

For conservatives fretful over the future of the party to which they have given allegiance, “How Barack Obama Won: A State by State Guide to the Historic 2008 Election” reads like something out of Edgar Allan Poe.

Co-authored by NBC’s Chuck Todd, it is a grim tale of what happened to the GOP in 2008, and what the future may hold.

Yet, on second and third reads, one discerns, as did Gen. Wolfe’s scouts 250 years ago, a narrow path leading up the cliff to the Plains of Abraham — and perhaps victory in 2012. First, the bad news: