Who/what did the most damage to the GOP brand name?

[justfollowingtheelections]

The Bush presidency was catastrophic for the Republican brand.  On one hand you have a president that comes off as an illiterate buffoon that keeps embarrassing the country worldwide, and then you have an army of evil masterminds such as Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove that most of the country despises.  The war in Iraq and the fact that many people felt misled by this administration really hurt their credibility.

[justfollowingtheelections]

People such as Mike Huckabee, Pat Robertson or Pat Buchanan were all relatively extreme on social issues and they all did well in the Republican primaries.
In the end the Republicans nominated the guy who once claimed he was more liberal than Ted Kennedy, so I really don't think it had anything to do with Santorum.
I really do believe the stench of the Bush presidency is still very strong.  If it wasn't, the Republicans wouldn't be doing everything they can to hide him and everyone else from his administration (with the exception of Condoleezza Rice for obvious reasons).