The New York Post reports that "Democratic lawmakers and aides said yesterday there is growing interest in tapping Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Senate Democratic leader if Sen. Tom Daschle retires next year." The fact that such a thing is even being discussed--considering that Senator Clinton has been in the Senate only two and a half years--shows that the Democratic Party is in deep trouble. What substance there is left of the party is being abdicated to the Clintons (this is meant to be plural). The AP runs a fundraising preview for the quarter, and it is not impressive for any Democrat. They are hurting, and no one is catching fire. And Lieberman is prepared to miss almost a month of voting on such things as Medicare, to raise money; he is heading West where the big money is; he needs a breakthrough, and fast, or his campaign may collapse.

The only candidate that anyone is talking about with any effervescence is Howard Dean, but he is, to say the least, struggling with his voice. He gives pretty good speeches, but is terrible in debates and interviews.
This analysis of Howard Dean’s arrogance and foolsihness regarding Iraq by William Saletan is excellent. It is a study of his achilles heel.
And the liberal John B. Judis argues in brief that it is very imprudent of the Democrats to ignore Iraq and foreign policy in general. The daily front page news is not what they are talking about. How could that be? And Walter Shapiro says that it is an exciting race among the Democrats because almost any one of them could win the nomination and that victory could have to do with the "accidents of timing." I think it is boring because any one of them could win and that victory could well be the result of an accidents of timing.