As I witnessed the Coretta Scott King DNC rally-er-funeral and the debate around the blogosphere afterwards, it became painfully obvious how desperate the Democratic Party is. They were glad somebody had the courage to tell Bush off, no matter how tasteless the forum might be.
The debacle underlies the greatest problem of the far left. They're angry and outraged at the War in Iraq and President Bush's methods of prosecuting the war on Terror. They're outraged as state after state passes Marriage Amendments, and at Democratic Senators refusal to support politically costly filibusters of President Bush's Supreme Court nominees. They're furious and what makes them maddest of all is that the American people aren't outraged with them.
There are some politicians who march to the beat of their angry drums. DNC Chairman Howard Dean comes to mind, as well as that angry woman from Illinois-Arkansas-New York, Senator Hillary Clinton. Of course, what the rest of us think is quite different.
Most Americans don't want another go-around with Clinton & Clinton. 51% of the American people have said they won't vote for Hillary Clinton in a recent poll, which I'm sure will anger her supporters.
Despite, Bush's low poll numbers and the division within the GOP over who our next nominee should be, at this point it looks like 2008 will be the Republican's race to lose. The Democrats may jump up and say, "Dream on, pal. We're outraged at your corrupt administration…(insert stereotypical long liberal rant.)" Whatever the merits of the current Administration, Bush won't be running in '08 and neither is Cheney, and besides that, outrage doesn't win elections.
Look at the most successful candidates of the last quarter Century. Ronald Reagan spoke of America as a City on the Hill, Bill Clinton told us that there was nothing wrong with America that couldn't be fixed by what was right with America, and George W. Bush told us that the night was ending, and the dawn was coming. Losing candidates also have a pattern, Jimmy Carter delivered the great malaise speech, Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, George H.W. Bush called Clinton and Gore "these Bozos", Bob Dole demanded to know where the outrage was, while John Kerry talked down the US war effort in Iraq.
Now the statements of these men may have had merit, but they didn't inspire the American people. The American people aren't looking for an angry president, or an outraged president, but a firm and optimistic one. They want to feel good about the country and they want a President who feels the Country is going in the right direction or at least is confident that any issues with the nation's direction can be corrected
There are some candidates in the Democratic Party who could come off as reasonable and hopeful such as former Senator John Edwards (D-NC) or former Governor Mark Warner (D-Va.). However the chances of either man securing the Democratic nomination are thin, and the chances are even thinner that they'll be able to get it without getting plenty mad for the base. You see, the money and the organizational strength of the Democratic Party rests with the far left. The idea that the Daily Kos/Move On left is going to support either of the smiling gentlemen from the South seems patently absurd. They want anger and outrage, and by God, they're going to get it.
What they won't get is the presidency. How long it takes them to figure out that the American people could care less about their anger and outrage will determine how long they're a minority party.
Adam Graham is the author of the Screwtape Report which is available at http://www.lulu.com/content/165415. He was the 2000 Montana State Coordinator of the Alan Keyes Presidential Campaign. He and his wife live in Boise, Idaho. He is a columnist for AmericanDaily.com, RenewAmerica.us, TheConservativeVoice.com. and Conservatown.com. You can visit his blog at http://www.adamsweb.us/blog You can also subscribe to his nightly podcast at http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/blgH
