Here's the thinking behind our wimpy Democratic response to the State of the Union speech --

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Kumbaya Caucus
By Ruth Marcus
Wednesday, January 30, 2008; A15

One of the most interesting contrasts between last year's State of the Union address and this year's has nothing to do with President Bush. It involves the transformed tone of the Democratic response, from partisan lion to post-partisan lamb....

Last year's Democratic response came from Jim Webb, the newly elected, perennially pugnacious senator from Virginia. A former Reagan administration official turned populist, antiwar Democrat, Webb's most recent book, about the Scottish-Irish influence on America, was "Born Fighting." His speech lived up to type....Flash forward to Monday night. For a brash male senator speaking from Washington, substitute a soothing female governor, Kansan Kathleen Sebelius, speaking from the heartland....Seated in front of a flickering fire, with a colorful spray of flowers beside her, Sebelius was assertively post-partisan -- so much so that some Democratic lawmakers grumbled afterward that there was not enough mention of their accomplishments.

"I'm a Democrat, but tonight, it really doesn't matter whether you think of yourself as a Democrat or a Republican or an independent. Or none of the above," Sebelius began. "In this time, normally reserved for the partisan response, I hope to offer you something more -- an American response." Instead of Webb's bellicose challenge to lead or step aside, Sebelius's message was more accommodating: "Join us, Mr. President." Americans, she said, "aren't afraid to face difficult choices. But we have no more patience for divisive politics."

This new messenger and overhauled tone is no accident. It reflects the mounting anxiety among congressional Democrats that the change in congressional leadership has not produced enough of the promised results in the public mind....However much Democratic lawmakers believe the fault rests with Republican obstructionism, however much the Democratic base may crave Webbian confrontation, the thinking goes, the wider audience -- to wit, swing voters in swing states that Democrats need to retain and expand their majority -- has no tolerance for they-did-it-first finger-pointing. "Reality has set in," says Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who advises House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "The Democrats have learned if you don't get anything done, they don't blame the Republicans, they blame both of you."

The mixed messages of 2006 and 2007 reflect the inner conflicts of the voters Democrats are trying to attract. "One, they want a party that stands on its principles, and two, they've got a pox-on-all-your-houses attitude," said one congressional Democrat. "While they blame Republicans more than Democrats, when you peel back the numbers there's a general concern about what's going on in the current state of politics. So you're trying to thread that needle." That needle-threading does not sit well with some die-hard partisans. "Bring back Jim Webb!" read a headline on the MotherJones.com blog. Wrote Todd Beeton on MyDD.com, "She's asking Bush 'to join us?' Is she kidding?"...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/29/AR2008012902214_pf.html

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. More strategery, instead of just saying and doing the right thing. So, they've just now learned that

they would get blamed for the dismal performance of Congress this year.

Slow learners, that lot.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Well said! Strategery, instead of saying and doing the right thing. nt

[madrchsod]

3. well i guess i did`t miss much with that speech

same old crap about not wanting to step on toes...oh well..there really isn`t any hope or reasoning this cold day in january