No Will to Win?

[dajabr]

By BOB HERBERT

Published: December 12, 2003


Ready, aim. . . .

The Democratic Party's circular firing squad has assembled. Everybody's angry with everybody else. Joe Lieberman is trying to extricate the knife that, in his view, Al Gore deposited in his back. Al Sharpton is accusing Mr. Gore of engaging in the kind of "bossism" that belongs "in the other party."

The Gore and Clinton families are morphing into the Hatfields and the McCoys. And the runaway Dean machine, which has shown an impressive ability to amass campaign cash and early primary support, is now generating prodigious amounts of fear and loathing as well.

Those cackles of glee you hear in the background are coming from the White House.

--snip--

The Dems may indeed sink like the Titanic next year. But I don't think Dr. Dean is the problem — at least, not yet. The problem is the party itself. God and the Republicans have blessed the Democrats with the high ground on one important issue after another, from the war in Iraq to national economic policy to health care to education to the environment.

But like the Union general George McClellan, the Democrats have been too timid to take full advantage. It's a party for the faint of heart. The Republicans are hijacking elections and redistricting the country and looting the Treasury and ignoring the Constitution and embittering our allies, while the Democrats are — let's see, fumbling their way through an incoherent primary season and freaking out over Al Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean.

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/12/opinion/12HERB.html?ex=1071810000&en=4f07344ffb08aada&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE

More on this theme here: http://www.opednews.com/burgwin_12031_scared.htm

[SlavesandBulldozers]

1. accurate

that's why Repubs are so powerful, they care little about nuance and details. Democrats nitpick, every move carefully deliberated. A year from now we will need to have solidarity - right now we have 9 candidates.

[Scott Lee]

2. Reminds me of the Monty Python skit from "Life of Brian"

In which the People's Front of Judea (all five of them) are having a meeting with all the consensus rules about how to save Brian; who is dying on the cross right above them.

Life imitates art.

[dajabr]

3. Sometimes I feel like I've fallen off the Tower of Babel...

Only to find myself on a joyride with "little green men."

I'm adding Life of Brian to my "to do" list for the weekend!

[mrgorth]

4. how true

[janx]

5. "The Gore and Clinton families are morphing into

the Hatfields and McCoys" ?

This sensationalism is getting ridiculous.

[Tansy_Gold]

6. Ridiculous, maybe, but accurate, too

The Democratic Party has no leadership. It has no platform. It has no cohesion. And its members are bickering and backstabbing and endorsing and counter-endorsing and grabbing for money and. .. it makes me want to puke.

There sits *, raking in his $200 million, spending not a cent of it, because he doesn't have to. And what are the dems in general doing? shooting each other. wasting money on a ridiculous primary race that is going to . . . .oh, fuck it. I've said it too many times and no one listens.

Stupid. Just plain stupid.

I'm going to bed.

[dajabr]

7. Get some rest...

And try saying it again tomorrow.

:thumbsup: