Clearly, losing the election has forced Republicans to be more reflective and self-critical.

       "When you're winning, it is unlikely you are going to ask yourself deep introspective questions about 'What can I do different?'" said Burton Pines, chairman of the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative Washington-based think tank. "If you're winning, you obviously must be doing the right thing, so why look to do anything different?"

       Some have expressed the need for the party to reach out to bring new voters into their ranks.

       "America is getting more diverse, not more alike," said outgoing Republican National Committee Chairman Richard Bond in his final address to committee members in late January. "And our job is to recognize this change and offer platforms and candidates and policies that reflect changing times."

       But the GOP may have difficulty attracting significant numbers of black voters. According to polling data, Bush received 11 percent of black votes in 1992 and 12 percent in 1988. Similarly, former President Ronald Reagan received 9 percent in 1984 and 11 percent in 1980.

       There is a whole new situation now--Haley Barbour, a political operative from Mississippi, was elected as the party's new chairman in January. And the new chairman, for the first time in 12 years, does not have the White House on his side.

       FORCED TO ESTABLISH CREDIBILITY

       One dilemma black Republicans faced when carrying their message to the nation's black communities last fall was that there were very few blacks involved in decision-making capacities in the Republican campaign.

       "One of the problems black Republicans have had in carrying a conservative Republican message to the black community is that we have to first establish credibility," said Arthur Polk, executive director of the National Black Republican Council.

       Kay James, another black Republican who was a surrogate speaker for President Bush during the campaign, agreed. James and her husband, Charles, spearheaded the Pro-Family Coalition.