I agree about Frost, even though I know less about him than I do about Nancy Pelosi. I just know he is less liberal than her and he's from Texas.

And as long as we're tossing out names, let me nominate Harold Ford for a leadership position of some sort. I like the guy a lot.

But whoever it is, the main thing is that the Dems have to have a story to tell. Intelligently.

That's why McAuliffe has to go. His time has come and gone.

That said, I have to call you on your slate of preposterous possibilities for the Bush administration.

Your idea seems to be if Bush doesn't go nuts, he'll be a success. It's the expectation game again. If the Dems are going to be successful they'll have to deal with that effectively.

And they don't have to lean more lefty to do it, either.

What on Earth are you talking about, Ara? %-)

You aren't talking about that satire piece I wrote above, are you? That was just poking fun at the massive fear and hysterical, overblown paranoia the Left has been spouting for my entire lifetime about what the Evil Republicans (a.k.a. "the radical right") would do if they ever got power.

Bush will do well if he simply moves forward his agenda--reduced taxes, minimal regulation of business affairs, vigorous prosecution of corporate fraud and abuse (no, those are not mutually exclusive), judges who see it as their duty to interpret the law rather than create it, strong prosecution of the war, opposing ridiculous extremism in the name of "a woman's right to choose," and stimulation of the economy.

The presumption that this will all destroy the country, or cloaks a massive "rigt wing" agenda, is laughable. Bush does, of course, need to go full steam ahead on his agenda. If he's successful with it, he and his party will be rewarded. If not, then the next few election cycles will see them punished. That's how democratic politics work.

But in any case, the ridiculous fear and paranoia of the Left will have been vanquished. At least, for now.

As for Frost and the Democrats: It's interesting that Texas is the only southern state left that has a majority of Democrats in its delegation. (There's something like 15 Republicans and 17 Democrats). Clearly, Democrats can win, even in Bush Country, and Frost knows that.

Still, they've got their work cut out for them. In 2000, Bush not only won a majority of states, but he also won a majority of congressional districts--235 vs. 200 for Gore. Which again says something about why Bush has been able to be effective, not to mention why Republicans didn't have that much trouble picking up seats in the House in 2002.

The Democrats have their work cut out for them. They no longer have fear of the "radical right" on their side. So they're going to have to concentrate on the issues for real. Can they do it? I think so. But it's going to take some time.

I think you are confused because you came to the same conclusion as mine.

Allow me to straighten you out.

You said:

Women will not be chained to kitchen stoves ... etc etc

That's like saying, "I'm a really great pilot. I've never crashed my plane a single time."

Look. I don't believe that "Jews and Catholics will [not be able to] pray at shul and at mass unmolested."

I don't believe any of that nonsense will happen (and I don't hang out with anyone who thinks it will, i.e., Terry McAuliffe).

You call it satire, but it's classic straw man stuff.

"Corporate leaders will still have to answer for crimes." I should hope they will.

But do you really think that's enough to make Bush a success? I hope not.

Here's the thing: To succeed, Bush has to do better than ensuring that "Blacks will not be reduced to 2/3rds [sic] of a citizen."

If the Dems are smart, they'll hold him to a higher standard of performance than that.

(BTW, Article 1, Section 2, and Clause 3 of the consitution said blacks were to be counted as 3/5 of a citizen...)

They'll have him jumping over a high bar, not a low one.

They need to insist that, now more than ever, the President must get results.

And none of that crap about "the President doesn't have any real power." Every time I hear that I laugh. You can deconstruct all you want, but you're just lowering the bar.

For the Dems, this has nothing to do with going more lefty or more moderate. In a strange sort of way, this has nothing to do with the Dems at all.

Between now and the end of 2003, it's all about Bush and the GOP. It has everything to do with performance and results.

So go ahead and say it:

..we will not all have our bank PIN numbers tattoo'd to our foreheads...

Great. Glad to hear it.

So...I'll see your five and raise you five more.

Really, Dean, did you honestly think Bush could get by on a "C+" for the rest of his term?

Okay, my satire of the loonie left is a secret plot to lower the bar for a wildly successful President. Check.

Ara,.

Too bad the Dems no longer have the power to hold Bush to any standard he doesn't want to be held to.

Too bad for YOU, that is.

Gary:

Even Bush knows that he doesn't have the power to be above "any standard he doesn't want to be held to."

Because...

NEWSFLASH:
Neither Bush, the GOP nor the Dems have any power.
They're just our public servants.

You and I have the power. In the end they're all accountable to you and me.

That's the lesson of every election.

Dean:

I know it's tough for you to understand this stuff.

But stick with it my friend. You're really making progress. You'll eventually catch on.

:^)

Ara,

1. You are assuming Bush cares more about being re-elected than he does about anything else. That remains to be seen.

2. The Democrats have no power over Bush that the does not wish to give them, regardless of what you might wish.