If you are a Democrat this piece will make you even more despondent. No real new information in this, yet it makes the Demos national prospects look very bleak indeed. And this, by James Traub, analyzes the effect that Clinton had on his party: not as clear as the effect that Reagan had on his. Indeed, he argues that Clinton’s masterful tergiversations--a "serial redefiner" is what Traub calls Clinton--is what has put the Demos in their current fix; Clinton’s "protean" ways allowed the Demos to play good defense against GOP ideological and electoral dominance, but without lasting value. Traub’s short piece leads more directly into the possibility of talking once again about a Republican realignment.