Weak and Wimpy

It's really quite depressing. There is a yearning in this country. It's in the air, it tingles, it's even palpable. People want change, they are desperate for a new direction, desperate for a new feeling of pride in America, desperate for a new image of ourselves as proud inheritors of the America our forefathers fought for. We are tired of having our reputations sullied by corrupt, incompetent, amoral, and unthinking leadership. To say that Bush has been a disaster for the country would be to minimize his harm.

Knowing that, this is a two party political system and there is supposed to be an alternative. Having been shut out of power for years, the Democrats are waiting in the wings. Problem is - that's all they are doing – waiting. Not normally one to agree with Rev Jesse Jackson, it cannot be denied that his recent remarks on the state of the Democratic party are irrefutable.

Americans are calling for a new direction in large numbers. They are looking for bold leadership -- and bold new policies to deal with the challenges we face.....Faced with the epic catastrophe wrought by this administration and this Congress' policies, Democrats have yet to lay out any compelling alternative.

....With America in desperate need of bold leadership and a new direction, their slogan for the 2006 election is, hilariously, "We can do better." ..... They seem unable to offer a coherent alternative to the president's ruinous tax-cut policies..... They have railed against the "culture of corruption" but failed to put out a comprehensive reform agenda, blocked by their own money-driven incumbents.....

Some of this is the fate of a party that is completely locked out of power..... But a lot of this is simple cowardice -- the belief that Bush and the Republican Congress have fallen so low and failed so completely, that Democrats can inherit power without ever committing to anything. That is bad politics and bad policy. Democrats who want to run for president are about to learn from core supporters that dancing between raindrops on issues of vital national importance won't get them there.

Posted on The Human Stain