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glenn
thanks for this. having lived in texas when bush first got elected governor, then moved to san francisco and lived there through the first term, 9/11, the ramp-up to the war, and the emormous protests that took place there, this is largely the perspective that i've had. many on the left simply don't understand the simple fact that bush actually believes that he's in the right, that u.s. = good and everyone else = bad. and they don't understand the enormous attraction of this message for millions of people.
even the grass-roots campaigning for kerry in 2004 reflected this mindset. the strategy seemed to consist largely of demonizing bush as an evil, incompetent liar. the main message coming from the left was "we can't endure another four years of this regime," an opinion many of us surely shared, but which mirrored the scare tactics already perfected by the right. i believe there were more positive themes to run on, but they got drowned out in the general screaming about how horrible things were under bush. as you argue, the left has a much more difficult, nuanced, and ultimately optimistic message to get out there. the stakes are merely the future of this country...
