Before We Troll For A Candidate, Let's First Bait The Hook

While Bush’s poll numbers are circling the bowl, Democrats need to step up and start hurling the insults. The winning strategy is to expose Bush for the incompetent leader he is. The American people do not seem to care that he can barely string three words together without tripping himself up, they do not care that he doesn’t understand the finer points of debate, consensus building or international affairs. They do, however, care that he cannot command his troops overseas to a victory or command his staff here at home. He sold the country on his ability to lead and it is proving to be his Achilles heel. Now is the time for the Democrats to start hammering away.

We don’t have to stoop to Karl Rove’s level in order to win, but we do need to show up to the fight, preferably armed to the teeth. The Democrats need to quit being so mealy mouthed and actually say what is on their minds. America is pissed, so Democratic hopefuls should feel free to stand up and give a voice to the frustration we all feel, they are the ones with the microphone, we are the audience patiently waiting for the chorus to begin, believe me we will all join in. We have suffered through the age of incompetence, it is time to usher in the age of efficiency. No, Bush is not going to be on any future ballot, but running against him will be a winner in ’06 and ’08 by painting all Republicans with the same brush. After all, they were quick to jump into bed with him and we must not let them roll out so fast, they must be made to suffer for their choice at every turn. They rubber stamped his agenda, all we have to do is beat them over the head with it until they are so inked up, they will be able to serve as the pad for all of their friends when they are fingerprinted, photographed and booked.

Americans are still in the mood for an ass kicker, just one that will be roughing up the right people. We want criminal CEO’s walked out of their mansions in handcuffs after they’ve bilked us out of our retirement funds, we want crooked politicians bounced out of office when they deceive the public and we want terrorists captured when they commit crimes against America. What we do not want is Martha Stewart in jail, redistricting that makes it virtually impossible for an incumbent to lose and a war that creates terrorists faster than we can catch them. Democrats are poised to win, but from what they are showing us so far, it seems they are content to lose.

The Republicans told America that the best they had to offer was Bush, a trust fund baby who drove every company he ever ran into the ground. If the Democrats can’t make something out of that, they do not deserve our vote. The mid-term elections should be a cakewalk and the next Presidential election should be our victory lap, I just hope our party leaders are ready to pick up the baton and run.

We don’t need a new plan in Iraq, we need new leadership to get the job done and the Republicans ain’t it. We all agree that the war was a bad idea, that the justifications for it appear to have been made up out of whole cloth, that it’s time to cut our losses and start planning for a way out, but the disastrous execution of the war is the Democrats best shot at taking control.

We need to attack the Republicans on their greatest weakness, which has proved to be their lack of leadership abilities. This administration took us into this ill-fated war, so let’s get out in a way that will minimize the long-term damage and possibly even repair our reputation abroad. Bush promised America that we would be greeted as liberators, that the war would pay for itself and that it would even bring prices down at the pump. Another “trifecta” for Bush in that he was unable to accomplish any of the three. We cannot change history but we can start selling the American people on a better future, a way out of the fog we are in. If we can get the reconstruction of Iraq going we will be half way there. Cancel the contracts with Haliburton and Bechtel and start passing out lucrative building deals to local Iraqi firms using local raw materials. Get the oil back online so there is some money coming in and maybe the price of oil will go down a bit in the process. When there are jobs to be had and opportunities for their children, joining the insurgency will not be nearly as appealing. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what to do, but it will take some straight talk, real leadership and vision to give Americans a way out and Iraqis a new lease on life. They sure didn’t throw flowers at us when we arrived, but maybe, just maybe they will be able to bid us a fond farewell when we pack up and go.