Well guess what folks. We're right smack between laugh at and fight on the progression. Don't underestimate whats happening.

Remember too that attrition will also take its toll in the long run. Many of the "beltway elites" we've been railing against are older than I am and I'm already older than dirt. - Paul Dirks

Thomas Edsall at Huffington Post:

Writer Quits NRO After Fabrications Exposed

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/07/writer-quits-nro-after-fa_n_75873.html

That was mighty quick...

Deborah Howell (ombudsman) at the WaPo criticizes Perry Bacon's highly questionable story on the "rumors" of Obama being a Muslim:

Stories about rumors are tricky and easily misconstrued. A Nov. 29 story and headline that explored Barack Obama's "connections to the Muslim world" and rumors that he is Muslim were met with a swift Internet reaction that left some staffers stunned at its ferocity. Even Post editorial cartoonist Tom Toles was "so upset" that he took the unusual step of taking potshots at the story in an editorial page cartoon.

My problems with the story by National Desk political reporter Perry Bacon Jr. and the headline ("Foes Use Obama's Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him") were that Obama's connections to Islam are slender at best; that the rumors were old; and that convincing evidence of their falsity wasn't included in the story.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/07/AR2007120701799.html

Certainly not the same Deborah Howell whose comment threads had to be shut down during her earlier bouts with the blogosphere, due to "bad language" from bloggers. In those days, she stonewalled consistently, trying to defend the WaPo's decision to hire obviously biased writers without any real experience or credentials. Again, this dispute was resolved much more quickly than it would have been just a year or two ago.

I think there was another one I wanted to highlight, too, but for the moment it escapes me.

It's also worth noting that both of these episodes overlapped with the Time/Klein fracas, in which both mag and writer ended up with lots of egg on their faces. Apparently, there are those who watch and learn.

... and it's probably an age thing, realizing that sudden changes, even if possible, may not always be desirable in the long run. That "be careful what you wish for" notion.

Still...

If we had hundreds of thousands of what used to be solid Democratic supporters threatening to go on a general strike, the leadership would have to listen, if for no other reason than to keep their fancy jobs and titles. - Anonymous

And if such a movement were in fact headed up by the likes of a Howard Dean or an Al Gore, I'd be willing to go on strike, too.

As for who really is a "change agent," I'm not so willing to accept that Obama is, or that Hillary is not. But, I would still prefer someone more like Chris Dodd. Figures that I'd be in such a minority...

I suggested that very idea quite awhile ago, overlander, when I was still actively keeping my blog going. Actually, early on when I started it...

I thought that if we were going to "have to have" a Republican president, then maybe we should all register as Republicans so we could have some say in who it would be. Nearly everyone who read/commented on that posted idea was horrified, with only one exception. Same with those I just told about it in my daily life. No way were they going to defect.

Garrison Keillor did much better with his song, "We're all Republicans now."

This year, the Republican field being what it is, I'm not sure there's much in it for us to invade their ranks. Yet. Unless we want to have some say in who will be their candidate for the First Lady, which is the only sphere in which there are some significant differences among the Republicans.

I just realized that I misunderstood your notion of the strike from your earlier post. The recent one emphasizes a more focused strike by the professional campaign workers. That certainly does seem to have the potential to be more effective as you describe it.

The mischievous part of me wonders if that mightn't be the key to a Democratic landslide, since the consultants would be less able to "handle" the candidates when they should be calling the shots themselves. ;~)

Just to clarify myself, as well...

I'm generally not in favor of 3rd party votes, for many of the same reasons you already mentioned. And, our current system of voting doesn't really allow them to be viable.

Still, the kind of scenario you paint is very tempting. And the promise of confidentiality that requires some kind of critical mass or tipping point, before implementing the strike (both professional staff and volunteers), might be worth considering, and just the key to make it possible.

As for Gore... I held out hope for quite awhile that he would be a candidate this time around. Finally, though, I realized that since he's been right about so many other things (since 2000), we would just have to trust him to be right about whether or not he should run in this election.

Already, he appears to be having the kind of impact on the climate crisis that he wants to have-- without having to be president. And upstaging GWB, for good measure. Can't argue with those results.

Do you have any thoughts about Dodd?

Finally, all the best to you in this election cycle... it is sure to be a stressful one. Make sure that you eat well. ;~) Since you probably won't get enough sleep.