http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/opinion/lweb12obama.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=sloginTo the Editor:
The question, as framed in Washington circles, is, Do you want to do what it takes to win the White House, or be precious about your principles and lose?
This ignores the fact that Barack Obama was doing quite well in the polls, thank you, before he moved to the so-called center. It’s another case of Democrats not having the capacity to take yes for an answer. After years in the wilderness, they find it incomprehensible that the center seems to have come to them.
In poll after poll, respondents prefer the Democratic position over the Republican one. All Democrats have to do is stand by their positions and push their advantage the way Republicans have been doing for decades.
But no. Back to cowering. And in the process, they blur the lines between their candidate and the Republican because, after all, Republicans win elections, right?
Shel Khipple
Wilmette, Ill., July 8, 2008