I’ve got a theory. But first, let’s review the evidence:

• “Heckuva job, Brownie” of FEMA and Katrina fame;

• The lack of armor for American troops in Iraq;

• The mess in the Medicare drug benefit program;

• And – my new favorite – the 24-year-old political appointee at NASA who tried to limit reporters’ access to a top climate specialist, then told a Web designer to add the word “theory” to every mention of the Big Bang. (This genius, George Deutsch, resigned after it was revealed he lied on his resume.)

Here’s the explanation. Like most things in life, as Hunter Thompson once said, it is deceptively quick and simple:

Republicans are miserable at running the government because they have nothing but contempt for government.

They love business. The bigger the better. And maybe some of them are good at running big and small businesses.

But how can they be good at running something they hate?

Democrats, of course, love government. To a fault. We study government, go to school to learn more about governing and dream at night about making government better. (Pathetic, isn’t it?)

Democrats take seriously the job of running government. Republicans don’t, and they’re lousy at it.