2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate – Colin Powell?

Rumors of the Democratic Party’s demise are greatly exaggerated. But Dems clearly need to regroup and rethink their identity and storyline. Current thinking is that the Bush Administration and the Republican congress are now so populated with rightwing ideologues and true believers that no amount of hard data will force them to confront reality. Domestic fiscal policy? Continued massive deficits and an $8 Trillion debt ceiling. The US balance of trade deficit now exceeds $50 billion/month driving the dollar to new lows against the Euro. The situation in Iraq is precarious at best and is symptomatic of the Bush Administration’s go it alone foreign policy. Even the most partisan of Democrats does not want this President to fail any more than a 3rd class passenger on the Titanic would hope for that ship’s captain to fail. However, a Democratic victory in 2008 will require a much better message than “I told you so.”

President Clinton showed that both the Democrats and America could succeed with a moderate at the helm. To succeed, the Democrats must rally behind both a unifying moderate figure and moderate message. The next leader must be what our current President is not, a pragmatist who’s credibility is beyond reproach. I know it’s the ultimate long shot. I know he’s a Republican. I know he promised not to write a tell all book (but imagine the stories he could tell. Wow!). Even so, it is time for the Democratic party to start a serious courtship with Colin Powell.