Progressive Minds

Well, I just finished watching one of my favorite political movies: The American President.  It's a great movie filled with funny moments about life in the fishbowl of the White House. But the message of the movie is undeniable.

My favorite line in the movie comes from a Presidential aide, Lewis Rothchild (played by Michael J. Fox).  During a heated discussion about President Andrew Shepherd's declining poll numbers, Rotchild says to the President: "People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand."

I couldn't help but think how timely this lesson in leadership is, particularly when it comes to the Democratic Party.

The American people clearly aren't behind the policies if George W. Bush.  So why is it that the Democrats remain in the minority?  Well, I think part of the answer can be found in the lack of leadership displayed by too many Democrats today.

They never learned a lesson that the Republicans learned well during the 1990's: how to get your message out at a time when you don't have the Rose Garden as your backdrop.

It's not enough to tell people what you are against.  The question becomes: what do you stand for?  The Democrats would do well to learn this lesson, going into the 2006 midterm elections.