The GOP is in the midst of an identity crisis, and they don't even admit to it. Bush's economy has leaned away from traditional Republican values of being responsible on the spending side of things. Now their leading candidate is a moderate. You are correct that they are lacking leadership. They need someone to come back along and reinstill the values of the conservative philosophy before they alienate their base.
What's sad about all of this is the Dems are poorly run themselves. The far left loons are taking over that party, and many of their ideas are very socialist in nature, such as redistribution of wealth.