"..To me anyway, this looks like a potential critical-mass moment. Of course, there are a few missing elements of no small import. The most obvious is an opposition party. The Democrats are essentially nowhere to be seen. In fact, whether or not they even remain a party is, at this point, open to serious question. Their leading candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, still wants to send more (nonexistent) American troops into Iraq and, like most other Democrats in Congress, has remained painfully mum -- this passes for a strategy, however craven -- on almost everything that matters at the moment. Even on the issue of torture, it's a Republican Senator, John McCain, who is spearheading resistance to the administration..."

Um, I think you are mistaken about the Democrats being silent, and you are certainly mistaken about 'whether or not they even remain a party...". Had you said that we are not being covered by the media, you would have the right of the matter. But, from John Conyers, to Louise Slaughter, to Howard Dean (especially), Democrats have been speaking out strongly and unequivocally about the insanity of this administration, in every area. I think it is also a media-manufactured myth to believe that HRC is our leading candidate for president - leading according to whom? Not according to the grassroots who got Howard Dean elected DNC Chair - unanimously.

The Democratic Party is not what the media thinks we are. In 2 years, we have to do, ethically and powerfully, what the right took 40 years to do. There are folks, even within the party, who haven't figured that out yet, so I guess journalists can be forgiven for not seeing the sea change.

But please make no mistake about it - that sea change is here.

Thank you.

Terri MacMillan

Chair,

Democrats Abroad Japan