We're Not in Kansas Anymore...Or Are We?

If you haven't read Thomas Frank's book What's the Matter with Kansas? yet, you should. It's a great analysis about where we are as a country. AlterNet recently interviewed Frank about his reaction to the election and what Democrats need to do to regain power. He says Americans are in nothing less than a cultural war: "Instead of it being blue collar against white collar, or workers against the Fortune 500, it is average Americans -- or 'authentic' Americans -- versus an affected liberal elite."

Not THAT Kind of Diversity, Silly!

From yesterday's White House press briefing with Scott McClellan:

Q: Just one other question on diversity. Clearly, there has been when it comes to race and ethnicity. Can we expect any philosophical diversity in the weeks ahead in the Bush Cabinet?

MR. McCLELLAN: As opposed to?

Q: The lack thereof? (Laughter.)

Hersh: Bush "completely bonkers"

Reporter and author Seymour Hersh, who broke both the My Lai and Abu Ghraib incidents, had this to say at a recent event promoting his book Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib:

"Bush is an ideologue, a Utopian. He wants to clean out the Middle East and install democracy. He doesn't care how many body bags come back home. There's nothing more dangerous than an ideologue who is completely bonkers and no one is going to tell him."

Hersh also claimed that the President made a mistake by treating the Taliban as one entity, even though half of its leadership wanted bin Laden out. "The Taliban has survived. Al Queda has survived. We wanted to eliminate crazy people who want to fly planes into buildings. But instead we dehumanized everyone in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Read more.

Racist? Never!

The votes are in. Alabama voters have rejected a state constitutional amendment that would have erased segregation-era wording requiring separate schools for "white and colored children" and would have removed language that the state does not guarantee a public education for everyone.

According to The Washington Post, John Giles, president of the Alabama Christian Coalition (slogan: "Informed Citizens Electing Leaders Who Leave a Great Legacy"), said "he would support taking out the passage about separate schools for 'white and colored children' as long as the part about not guaranteeing a right to an education is kept."

So rest assured. This vote was not about racism -- it was about the desire to deny children education. Feel better?

It's Not Too Early...

This is not an endorsement of any hypothetical candidate for 2008 -- just a heads-up that Irregular Times already has your buttons and bumper stickers for the presidential race that's now less than four years away. Your choice of Obama, Hillary, Kerry-Edwards, Edwards, Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Richardson, Marcy Kaptur, Al Sharpton, Dennis Kucinich, Barbara Boxer, Carol Moseley Braun, or Dianne Feinstein. Don't see your candidate? Maybe they'll take custom orders.

Bush, Rove Boorish at Clinton Library Opening

Last week I reported on Karl Rove's request for seat near the door at the luncheon following the dedication ceremony of the Clinton Library. Now Sidney Blumenthal has a column in the Guardian, quoting the president as saying, "One gulp and we're out of here" and both Bush and Rove making other disturbing and inappropriate comments during their private tour.

You Know What We Need? A Yacht!

They say that September 11 changed everything. But what about our spending priorities? The spending bill Congress passed over the weekend includes $2 million to re-purchase the USS Sequoia presidential yacht. But it reduces by 90,000 the number of poor college students who can get Pell grants (remember the president bragging about his support for Pell grants during the campaign?).

The official site of the Sequoia says President Hoover promoted his use of the yacht during the Depression to "elevate the spirit of a starving public," but "the public saw Hoover's use of the Sequoia as an example of a President who was out of touch with the needs of a poor populace."

Hmmm. Maybe that explains it.

Rendell Won't Run

Ed Rendell, governor of Pennsylvania and former DNC chair, says he won't run for president in 2008. His advice to Democrats: "Don't give up the ship. Just get a larger bucket and start bailing faster." (See boat-related post above.) He said Monday that the party needs to recruit good candidates, get voters involved in elections (not just presidential races), and explain its positions more clearly.

Too-Great Expectations for Obama?

"There's a private fear even among Barack Obama's most passionate admirers that he's been pushed toward a national stage that he may not not quite be ready for," according to this article from Washington Monthly.

Clintonmania in Little Rock

I'm back from the Clinton festivities in Little Rock. An editorial in today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette accurately called the dedication ceremony "a little across-the-aisle nicey-nicey." Highlights and links to the remarks are in the previous post. Here's the good stuff -- photos (mine unless credited). Click on the photos to see them larger and clearer.

The 43rd, 42nd, 39th, and 41st presidents arrive (photo by Tech. Sgt. Bob Oldham of the Arkansas Air National Guard):



The bridge to the 21st century needs a roof:



Bono, The Edge, and The Rain:



Robin Williams in the bar at the Peabody Hotel:



Robin Williams, former HHS secretary Donna Shalala (with back toward me), and former AG Janet Reno:



Jesse Jackson, also at the Peabody bar:



Kevin Spacey at Wednesday night's party at Sticky Fingerz Rock and Roll Chicken Shack:



George Stephanopoulos at the Peabody:



Judge Reinhold (whose wife is an Arkansan), having lunch at the Cox Center:



Former White House spokesman Mike McCurry, at Sticky Fingerz:



Representing the Reagan family...Ron Reagan, Jr.:



Former Texas Governor Ann Richards, singing in the rain on Thursday:



Al Franken (photo by Mike Pirnique):

Remarks from Library Opening

Among President Clinton, Senator Clinton, President Carter, President George W. Bush, and President George H.W. Bush, who would have thought that the remarks that were talked about the most were those of the senior Bush? George H.W. gave a complimentary, frank, and self-deprecating speech that had people talking as they tried to get warm and dry after standing in the rain for four or more hours.

Here's what stood out for me:

President Clinton:
"America has two great dominant strands of political thought -- we're represented up here on this stage -- conservatism, which, at its very best, draws lies that should not be crossed; and progressivism, which, at its very best, breaks down barriers that are no longer needed or should never have been erected in the first place...

"What it [the library] is to me is the symbol of not only what I tried to do, but what I want to do with the rest of my life: building bridges from yesterday to tomorrow, building bridges across racial and religious and ethnic and income and political divides, building bridges....

"What should our shared values be? Everybody counts. Everybody deserves a chance. Everybody has got a responsibility to fulfill. We all do better when we work together. Our differences do matter, but our common humanity matters more. So I tell you that we can continue building our bridge to tomorrow. It will require some red American line-drawing and some blue American barrier-breaking, but we can do it together."

President Jimmy Carter:
"As a goveror, as a candidate, and as president, Bill Clinton brought insight, wisdom, and determination to bear on the issues that he addressed. He was a leader who could inspire other people to go beyond what they thought were their limits to join him in accomplishing great goals....

"Let me say that at the end of a very difficult political year -- more difficult for some of us than others -- it is valuable for the world to see two Democrats and two Republicans assembled together all honoring the great nation that has permitted us to serve."

President George H.W. Bush:
"Through his indefatigable determination, not only did he lift himself and his family up, he also went on to touch the lives of millions around the world as president of the United States, giving them hope. Of course, it always has to be said that Bill Clinton was one of the most gifted American political figures in modern times. Trust me, I learned this the hard way....

"And seeing him out on the campaign trail, it was plain to see how he fed off the energy and the hopes and the aspirations of the American people. Simply put, he was a natural, and he made it look too easy. And oh, how I hated him for that. Another gripe, Bill Clinton enjoyed debates too much fo my taste. You know, to be very frank with you now, I hated debates....

"But one of the great blessings [of being a former president] is the way one-time political adversaries have the tendency to become friends, and I feel such is certainly the case between President Clinton and me....

"Every time he got knocked down, which can happen in politics, he got right back up. In fact, he made the comeback his trademark. And therein lies the greatest lesson every offered to future generations: Never give up, never give in, keep on fighting."

Senator Hillary Clinton:
"I cannot wait for you to see this and tour this museum. The building is like my husband: It's open, it's expansive, it's welcoming, it's filled with light. And the exhibits tell a story of someone who loves his fellow man, who cares deeply about the future of all of our children, who recognizes our common humanity."

President George W. Bush:
"President Clinton led our country with optimism and a great affection for the American people....In the White House, the whole nation witnessed his brilliance and his mastery of detail, his persuasive power and his persistence. The president is not the kind to give up a fight. His staffers have been known to say, 'If Clinton were the Titanic, the iceberg would sink.' During his presidency, Bill Clinton seized important opportunities on issues from welfare to trade....And in all his actions and decisions, the American people sensed a deep empathy for the poor and the powerless."

Here are complete transcripts for BC, HRC, JC, GHWB, and GWB.

Not Everyone's a Supporter

While not a major presence, a small group of Clinton-haters did their best to offer an opposing view.

Don't hold back -- tell us how you really feel:






They start their protesters young:

Welcome to Little Rock. Now Go the Hell Home

A letter to the editor that appeared in today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette:

Don't Forget the Trailer

Arkansans, beware. The perverts are coming to town. Yes, as we red-state Americans celebrate the opening of deer hunting season, we are being inundated by elite rich, blue-state snobs. They are coming to Arkansas to celebrate two things -- the last nationwide victory and the opening of the library of the first white-trash president. So white trash, in fact, that this throne to the sun king looks like a trailer house on stilts.

Some advice to all you liberals coming to town....Do not wander into the woods around Arkansas the weekend that you are here. The woods will be full of what you consider vile and disgusting, dumb Americans hunting deer. The only problem with that thought is that we are not dumb and we will be armed legally.

We don't want you people here, so do us all a favor when you leave. Rent a truck, put wheels on the trailer house (library) and take it back to New York with you. We don't want Clinton or any of you liberals to be left behind.

TIM JOSLIN
Austin

Karl Rove: Ants in his Pants?

Immediately after Thursday's dedication ceremony, a super-exclusive luncheon was held in a nicely decorated tent (with roses on each table and chandeliers even!). The planners got word in the morning that WH chief of staff Andy Card would not attend, but Karl Rove would.

But Rove specifically asked to be seated near a door. Was he planning an early escape, or something more sinister?

Senators to Watch (Out For)

Here's a good -- and scary -- profile of new senators Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, David Vitter, Richard Burr, and John Thune.

Losing the Battle for Hearts & Minds

This Christian Science Monitor article says:
"In the heat of the moment Saturday, a young marine did severe damage to the image of a precise and clean assault that the US had hoped to project from Fallujah....The notion that armies are only as good as their least disciplined soldier in the media glare of modern warfare has become almost a matter of doctrine, given the need for enlisted men to think quickly in stressful situations."

Greetings from Little Rock

I've been in Little Rock since Monday for "Clinton Week" -- a whole bunch of festivities celebrating the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center on Thursday. Look for a detailed report this weekend when I'm back in D.C.

In the meantime, if you want to keep up with the news, gossip, and celebrity sitings, the Arkansas Times has a daily blog that's dishing out all the dirt.

Briefly, there's a lot of talk about Hillary in 2008 (get your t-shirts here), a lot of jockeying for the A-list parties, and strategic planning about next steps for the Dems. As for the mood, it's clearly a week for nostalgia, celebration, and optimism -- a nice break from the hand-wringing, finger-pointing, and second-guessing of Democrats back home.

Voters: Top Moral Issues = Peace, Poverty, Greed

Don't dismiss "moral values" as an important factor in choosing our leaders. A new Zogby poll shows that Americans think the greatest moral values in America are peace, poverty, and greed -- and that Catholics think issues of economic justice represent the greatest moral crisis in our country.

When voters were asked to list the moral issue that most affected their vote, the Iraq war topped the list (42 percent) -- more than triple the number that chose abortion (13 percent) or gay marriage (9 percent). And the most urgent moral crisis in the U.S.?
Greed and materialism (33 percent)
Poverty and economic justice (31 percent)
Abortion (16 percent)
Gay marriage (12 percent)

"Guidance" for Media in Iraq

The administration has been working hard to create the impression that all resistance in Iraq is coming from insurgents crossing the border. And Iraq's new Media High Commission is warning it will crack down on media who do not stick to that message. (Ironically, this "independent" commission was created to support a media free from government control.)

Th commission issued a statement on letterhead from the Iraq prime minister's office, saying that all media organizations operating in Iraq should "differentiate between the innocent Fallouja residents who are not targeted by military operations and terrorist groups that infiltrated the city and held its people hostage under the pretext of resistance and jihad." Furthermore, media should "guide correspondents in Fallouja ... not to promote unrealistic positions or project nationalist tags on terrorist gangs of criminals and killers."

It requested that media "set aside space in your news coverage to make the position of the Iraqi government, which expresses the aspirations of most Iraqis, clear."

In closing: "We hope you comply ... otherwise we regret we will be forced to take all the legal measures to guarantee higher national interests."

Full Reuters article here.

Evangelicals Push for More

This Los Angeles Times article says evangelical leaders are vowing to hold Republican officials accountable for implementing their agenda. "Some evangelical leaders have warned in interviews that the Republican Party would pay a price in future elections if its leaders did not take up the issues that brought evangelicals to the polls."

Robert Knight, who heads an affiliate for Concerned Women for America, a Christian convervative advocacy group, said: "Business as usual isn't going to cut it, where the GOP rides to victory by espousing traditional family values and then turns around and rewards the liberals in its ranks....

"If the GOP wants to expand and govern effectively, it can't play both sides of the fence anymore. It needs a coherent message, which came through loud and clear in the election."

Is it just me, or is it interesting that a man would be leading a Concerned Women for America group?

Howard Dean on the Election

"The truth is the president of the United States used the same device that Slobodan Milosevic used in Serbia. When you appeal to homophobia, when you appeal to sexism, when you appeal to racism, that is extraordinarily damaging to the country," Dean charged. "I know George Bush. I served with him for six years [as a fellow governor]. He's not a homophobe. He's not a racist. He's not a sexist. In some ways, what he did was worse ... because he knew better."

See Dean's remarks to students at Nortwestern University Thursday.

Bedroom Politics

In this article, Liza Langley warns against dating a Bush supporter: "If a person identifies with Bush's political policies, that thinking might reflect in their dating policies."

An example:
"Look at the War on Iraq. Following that logic, a Bush voter will potentially get you in bed a) without preparation, b) under false pretenses and c) you weren't really even the one he wanted, but he couldn't find her."

Turn the Paige

Secretary of Education Rod Paige is stepping down. Now who will defend the government from the NEA, which he called a "terrorist organization"?

Margaret Spellings, the president's domestic policy advisor who advised him on education when he was governor of Texas, is likely to succeed Paige. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Solving the Paradox

If you're not fed up with post-election analysis, this new report by Stan Greenberg and James Carville is the best summary I've seen -- great insights.

"Bush asked people to vote their beliefs and feelings, rather than to judge his performance or ideas for the future. That is why George Bush’s vote on Election Day exceeded his pre-election job approval and exceeded his final poll numbers. That is why George Bush has no mandate for his policy agenda."

Here's the 13-page report -- Solving the Paradox of 2004: Why America Wanted Change but Voted for Continuity.

Clintons and Bushes and Bono -- oh my!

Well, it looks like I'll be seeing our newly reelected president next week. President Bush has confirmed his attendance at the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center. He, his dad, Jimmy Carter, and Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea will speak -- and U2's Bono and the Edge will perform. Don't expect to see this group together again anytime soon.

Not Everyone Is Sorry

By now, you've probably seen the Web site "Sorry Everybody" -- www.sorryeverybody.com -- where Americans who didn't vote for Bush apologize to the rest of the world for the election results.

Now comes an opposing view, which I think is even funnier. "We're Not Sorry" -- www.werenotsorry.com -- from Bush supporters, quite a few of whom are packing heat.

Kerry Captures Bin Laden One Week Too Late

From The Onion.

Don't Pay No Never Mind to the Geneva Conventions

In the end, I suppose Alberto Gonzales will be our next attorney general. But his nomination is sure to renew attention on well-documented human rights abuses, including the torture at Abu Ghraib.

Gonzales advised the president that the Geneva Conventions did not need to be followed in the conflict with Afghanistan. Secretary of State Colin Powell urged that this policy be reconsidered, warning: "It will reverse over a century of U.S. policy and practice in supporting the Geneva Conventions and undermine the protections of the rule of law for our troops, both in this specific conduct and in general. It has a high cost in terms of negative international reaction, with immediate adverse consequences for our conduct of foreign policy. It will undermine public support among critical allies, making military cooperation more difficult to sustain."

My wife, who's been an attorney for the government as well as a defense lawyer, said when the memos were first released, "Whoever wrote that memo should not only be fired -- they should be disbarred." Well, either that or promoted to the nation's number one law enforcement position.

Human Rights First has a good summary of these concerns, with links to the memos.

Draft? What Draft?

The Selective Service Agency has filed a notice to check the Department of Education's computer records to ensure that students receiving financial aid have registered with the agency. Of course, the president says he "absolutely" won't reinstate the draft, but I guess he wants to have his bases covered.

The notice was filed on Oct. 28 and published in the Federal Register on Nov. 4.

Bring It On

Check out this post from craigslist, under "Missed Connections."

Straight male seeks Bush supporter for fair, physical fight
I would like to fight a Bush supporter to vent my anger. If you are one, have a fiery streek [sic], please contact me so we can meet and physically fight. I would like to beat the s**t out of you.

Confessions of a Cultural Elitist

"Why shouldn't those of us on the coasts feel superior? We eat better, travel more, dress better, watch cooler movies, earn better salaries, meet more interesting people, listen to better music and know more about what's going on in the world."

From Ted Ball, UPI editorial cartoonist.

Zell Miller: Love is in the (h)air

I think Zell Miller has a crush on Maureen Dowd.

The New York Post's Page 6 today reports on Senator Miller's comments on "Imus in the Morning" about Ms. Dowd of the NY Times yesterday. "The more Maureen Loud [sic] gets on 'Meet the Press' and writes those columns, the redder these states get," he said. "I mean, they don't want some high-brow hussy from New York City explaining to them that they're idiots and telling them that they're stupid." He added: "That red-headed woman at the New York Times" shouldn't mock anyone's religion: "You can see horns just sprouting up through that Technicolor hair."

Says Dowd: "I'm not a high-brow hussy from New York. I'm a high-brow hussy from Washington. Senator, pistols or swords?"

Zell and Maureen, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g...

Crime and Terrorism Defeated!

Good news from John Ashcroft's resignation letter: “The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved.”

Ashcroft's To-Do List
Defeat crime
Defeat terrorism
Get gallbladder removed

His work here is done.

Condoms? Not in Texas.

15- to 17-year-old girls in Texas have the nation's highest pregnancy rate, but they won't be learnin' 'bout them condoms in their health education classes. No sir, on Friday the Texas Board of Education voted on a list of approved health textbooks -- and the books recommend abstinence and warn of the dangers of STDs but don't mention (shhhhhh!) condoms or any other form of contraception. The Christian Science Monitor reports: "One offers strategies such as going out in groups, avoiding alcohol and drugs, and getting plenty of rest to avoid having 'to make a tough choice when you are tired.' "

Yeah, advice like that should take care of that pesky teen pregnancy problem.

Time to Rethink Our Approach?

"Success will come in the future only if we understand there is not one solution, but many, and one of those solutions is to stop thinking that if we just do exactly what we do — but more and better — then next time we'll win. We need to stop thinking that our ideas are superior, that facts will win elections, and that voters are rational in the way we want them to be....

"In the end, people vote for core values, and generally we don't know what ours are, and when we do know, we have a terrible time explaining them."

Saying it's time to stop playing "if-only," this column by Don Hazen at Alternet says it's time for Democrats to face the music and rethink the way we engage in politics.

IQ and Politics

Here's an interesting graphic showing the relative IQs by state -- and how each state voted this year.

Wrestling with a Gorilla

William Rivers Pitt claims, "If Bush's first four years are any indication of what is to come, and if the movement continues to hammer him, history will remember him single worst President the nation has ever known." Read more.

The Morality of Social Justice

"The Democrats' moral language should be about social justice." It's not exactly a new point, but Robert Reich articulates it well in this Slate column. "Democrats need to talk more about it (faith), and inspire more of it. But...I mean the sort of faith on which all social progress has been based, and must be based -- an irrational faith that it is possible, by working together, to create a more just nation and a more just world."

Bill Clinton Says...

1993 was a roller coaster of a year in the Clinton White House. While we were full of enthusiasm for bringing change to America, there were a series of setbacks and obstacles that threatened our progress -- Whitewater, the travel office, Vince Foster's suicide, and more. What kept us together more than anything else was the president himself.

This past week, I've been thinking about the president's comments at a staff meeting he called the day after Vince Foster died. His words then apply now to what many Democrats (and other Americans) are feeling. Essentially, times like these bring us together and remind us that we're a team and need to support each other. And while we have to keep working to make a difference in our country, we also have to accept that there will always be things we can't control.

Speaking of Clinton, he commented on the election a few days ago:
"I hope that we'll be able to diminish the culture war, not by getting people to give up what they think is right and wrong, but by getting them to listen to one another and look at one another as people again, and not as cartoons."

In a few weeks, I'm going to Little Rock for the opening of the Clinton Presidential Center. Check back for photos and reports, including views from other Clintonistas.

Draw Your Own Conclusions

2004's blue/red states compared with pre-Civil War free/slave states:

Don't Blame the Bible-Thumpers

Ira Chernus, a religious professor at the University of Colorado, says Don't Blame the Bible-Thumpers for Bush Victory. He makes a good point that moral values alone would not have been enough without the powerful fear of terrorism. "We must offer a genuine model of tolerance, understanding, and concern for people who are really scared, even if they are scared more by shadows than realities."

Maureen Dowd: The Red Zone

I'm trying to be positive, but Maureen Dowd's Nov. 4 op-ed summarizes my frustration pretty well.

"Mr. Bush, whose administration drummed up fake evidence to trick us into war with Iraq, sticking our troops in an immoral position with no exit strategy, won on 'moral issues.' "

In fact, I recommend bookmarking her column to get you through the next four years.

The Onion

As always, The Onion had the best campaign coverage of any media. It's must reading during the painful four years ahead. Top headlines this week:
"God Puts His Tool Back Into Office"
"America Comes Out Agin The Gay Marryin"
"Bush Does Victory Lap Around World Trade Center Site"

And in case you missed this story from a few weeks ago:
"Cheney Vows to Attack U.S. if Kerry Elected"

It's Her Party Too

Former EPA administrator Christine Todd Whitman has an upcoming book called "It's My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America." Personally, I prefer the previous title, which Amazon.com still lists -- It's My Party Too: How the Radical Right is Undermining America.

According to National Journal, Whitman "argues...that the GOP has been hijacked by social fundamentalists who have declared open warfare against party moderates like herself."

Coping

During the 2004 campaign, I compiled an extensive list of friends and friends-of-friends interested in getting news and analysis about the campaign. While I certainly sent my share of jokes and Bush-bashing articles, I tried to stay positive and focus on issues.

President Bush has been reelected, and those issues matter more than ever. Like many of my left-leaning friends, I've been thinking about how I can channel my frustration, sadness, and disappointment in a positive way. So instead of clogging email boxes with messages, I've created this home for some observations, links, and news that might be interesting to others who are coping with this loss -- and preparing to move forward in a positive way.

So check back every once in a while, and let me know what you think.

Are you part of the 24 percent?

Did you see CNN's Nov. 4 poll showing how people feel about the next four years? Kind of depressing, but not surprising:

One-third of respondents said they are optimistic about Bush's second term.
23 percent are enthusiastic.
18 percent expressed pessimism.
24 percent said are afraid.

CNN's article summarized the findings this way:
"More people feel enthusiastic and optimistic about Bush's second term (56 percent) than feel pessimistic and afraid (42 percent)."

True, but what stands out to me is that last category. When 24 percent of Americans are afraid, can anyone think that's a positive statistic?

"The Roller Coaster Crashed"

Check out this article to get some advice from mental health experts! They say we'll feel better soon.

"Right now you've got them at the depths of their despair," said Daniel Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist who has studied voters' emotional reaction to elections. "They're not going to feel worse in a week. They're going to feel better."

Michael Moore

If you're not a fan of Michael Moore, you can rest assured you'll hear less about him now that the election is over. But if you do want to hear what he has to say -- and I do -- sign up for email messages at his website.

Today he posted "17 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Slit Your Wrists." No. 3:

"The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults (Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving once again that your parents are always wrong and you should never listen to them."

However, I'm skeptical about his final reason:
"...over 55 million Americans voted for the candidate dubbed "The #1 Liberal in the Senate." That's more than the total number of voters who voted for either Reagan, Bush I, Clinton or Gore....If the media are looking for a trend it should be this -- that so many Americans were, for the first time since Kennedy, willing to vote for an out-and-out liberal."

My concern is that Democrats, Independents, and many first-time voters were united as much against Bush as they were for Kerry. I'm not criticizing Kerry as a candidate -- I think he was a good choice and did an admirable job, particularly in the debates and the final month of the campaign. In 2008, we lose the anti-Bush factor, though anti-Republican sentiment could still be a factor.

What Happened?

Want to stay involved now that the election is over? Subscribe to The New Dem Daily -- published by New Democrats Online.

Please read the Nov. 4 issue. The column identifies three "trust gaps" -- national security, the need for reform, and values and culture. "If, as the DLC has long argued, the test for Democrats is to convince voters that they will defend their country, share their values, and champion their economic issues, it's pretty clear Democrats continue to come up short on the first two tests even as they pass the third with fluing colors....We need a heartland strategy to go with a positive message that reaches the heart as well as the wallet."

How to Win the Red States

Good commentary by William Saletan.

His advice? "Be the party that rewards ordinary people who do what they're supposed to do -- and protects them from those who don't."

Two Nations Under God

Must reading, by Tom Friedman of the NY Times.

"My problem with the Christian fundamentalists supporting Mr. Bush is not their spiritual energy or the fact that I am of a different faith. It is the way in which he and they have used that religious energy to promote divisions and intolerance at home and abroad."