After the Fall

Terry McAullife is in a bad mood. Bill Clinton's hair just turned a shade whiter. "Bush basked quietly yesterday in his achievements as Campaigner in Chief". Tom Daschle is maneuvering to be the underdog. Jeb Bush woke up still governing. Dick Gephardt resigned as House Minority Leader.

In another article, the Post highlights the problem: "without a dominant national leader and without a clear agenda to take into the 2004 presidential election". My opinion is that they do have a leader - or at least a tone-setter - and his name is Al. Until someone else emerges to take the reins of the party, they're still reminiscent of Uncle Albert. How so? They have a laundry list of complaints, and they have a smarter-than-thou attitude towards the Republican administration, but they lack a vision that can easily be communicated to voters. It's a bit of a role reversal: in the past, Republicans have struggled with being too smart. I was watching George H. W. Bush's inaugural speech for work yesterday (part of my daily brainwashing) and winced at his bluntness and political ineptitude. Not that he wasn't telling the truth or didn't have a good handle on the facts: he just portrayed them with no grace at all. The Democrats, though politically correct, have gotten mired in the wonkish work of trying to split hairs over Republican-spearheaded policy. Yes, they might be right, but trying to roll back a tax cut partway looks a lot paler than fighting for a tax cut, getting it, and standing by it. Halfway measures go nowhere in politics.