At the weekend, David Frum, a leading Republican thinker and former speechwriter for Mr Bush, wrote in the "Washington Post" that Mr McCain was doomed and "is losing in a way that threatens to take the entire Republican Party down with him" The only hope for Republicans, he argued, was to divert resources to prevent the Democratic majority of 51 to 49 turning into a 60 to 40 majority which would be filibuster-proof and therefore enable an Obama administration and Democratic Congress to push through a Left-wing agenda.