Interesting article from Time: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101030421-443202,00.html The key is a true leader is not necessarily a good thing. Many times in history, a leader led his people into disaster. As I said before, this thing about democracy is that for people who object how W leads, the chance of retiring him comes in Nov. 2004. However, Dems need to find someone who can counter W in terms of leadership.
The Republicans have become very cultlike in their adoration of Bush, I've noticed. It must be a reaction after eight years of Clinton, but when it comes to Bush, the GOP are guzzling down the Kool-Aid and begging for seconds. (Which is amazing, considering where the Kool-Aid metaphor comes from, and all.) It's as if Bush is the kid in the "Twilight Zone" episode who can read thoughts and turn people into toys. Remember, you can't spell worship without "Dubya."
Re: Re: Kingsley: Bush a real thing – a leader I don't know, Dan. I think we're going to see some major cracks within the next few months. The fact that his tax cut is being slashed not only by the dems gives me some hope that there are some reeps out there who haven't sold their soul to Halliburton. The far right, of course, is yelling (always has yelled, and always will yell) pretty loud about how great Bush is. But the louder they yell, the harder it will be for moderates to take this president's actions to heart.
Re: Re: Kingsley: Bush a real thing – a leader Even with this war, I don't think that dubya has the standing in his party the Reagan had. One big mistake and his base could desert him. But I'll bet he remembers "read my lips" and how it backfired. As far as the kool-aid goes, I think Kinsley has it right - to beat dubya they will need to be at the top of their game, he should be a much tougher opponent next time. However, the Democrats can also inflict deep wounds on themselves, look at Mondale and Dukakis (and Gore). Without a miracle-worker like Clinton they can degenerate into a nutty rabble. Pelosi is just one statement away from turning them into the San Francisco Democrats again.
Re: Re: Kingsley: Bush a real thing – a leader It's not just the Republicans, Dems should share some of the credit/blame as well. They were either going far left or behaving like barking puppies, toothless and wimpy, while being led down W’s way.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Kingsley: Bush a real thing – a leader The bottom line is GOP or Dems need many of us (independents) to win in 2004. So far, IMHO the jury is still out. Personally, I like what W did in Afghanistan (although it’s not over yet), but I was far less enthused about how he handles Iraq (although I’m really happy so far so good and willing to cut him some slacks for now). As for domestic issues, he has not shown me anything yet. Therefore, as far as I can decide, his re-election is still far from certain, war or no war. However, Dems cannot win if they keep shooting themselves in the foot. They need to give us a strong moderate with leadership appeal, or they can pray that W would completely destroy the economy, which I won’t bet on. On the other hand, right now is GOP’s chance to take charge of domestic issues and show us how capable they are. We will see in 18 months…