Oliphant: Debating Democrats avoid Calif. pitfalls

[Sticky]

SENATOR John Edwards is right on -- there really is a train wreck coming in the United States, and Americans of all political persuasions are correct in feeling deeply unsettled about a foreign policy mess that for now has linked with an economic policy mess in their worried outlook. In California, by contrast, the train wreck has already happened as the state's voters struggle to decide if it is dramatically different from other states, requiring a unique response, the product partially of politics broadly defined (both parties, gridlock), or of one party narrowly defined (the governor they reelected barely 10 months ago).

That hard-to-define moment when people really begin to pay attention to presidential politics is approaching. A tentative conclusion: So far, the illuminating contest for the Democratic nomination, contrary to past buzz, has made President Bush's position more precarious, not stronger. There is now an opposition, grounded in the broader public concerns about Iraq and the economy, that has gained, not lost, strength with time. You can quarrel with its ideas; you cannot deny its legitimacy.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2003/09/28/debating_democrats_avoid_calif_pitfalls/

[realFedUp]

1. and we are the opposition.

Love the Oliphant man.

[Manix]

2. well said

Tom rocks!