Big Picture Round-Up

Time to give you the view from 50,000 feet up.

There are signs that the Great Republican Crack-Up is underway. I think the turning point was the media coverage of the hurricane Katrina.

Before we get all full of schadenfreude, let's remember that it seems to be the legacy of every lame duck presidential administration that the rest of the party -- the part that still has to face the electorate -- quickly realizes that ditching the lame duck is in their interests. So some of the conservative backlash we're seeing is simply regular Republicans distancing themselves from the lame duck W has certainly become.

But having been all cautious and everything, let's at least sample some of the Schadenfreude, vintage fall 05.

1. Katrina Aftermath
2. Iraq Quagmire
3. Record gas prices
4. Idiotic Supreme Court Nomination
5. Pending indictments in Plame-gate
6. Delay indictments (!!)
7. Stalled Economy
8. Social Security Privatization Blow-Up
9. Evidence of W's return to the bottle
10. Crony-ism (giving a hand to oil refiners, e.g., leave no billionaire behind, etc.)

OK, that's enough. But really, it IS enough. Even the slow-to-think press is starting to realize that these things all sort of add up to a story.

Here's my story:

The end is near for the corporate-ist party. The American people may be slow to catch on, but catch on they will. And I think we are seeing the beginning of that.

But all the tricks that the Repubs have used to get power are still there. They may be down but they are by no means out. There are a lot of smart and ambitious people on their side, and so far we are lacking the one necessary ingredient.

To put these guys down once and for all, we need a charismatic Democrat to lead the way. In fact, we probably need more than one. But we need someone who is muscular, who is positive, who is likable, and who has a positive vision for our country. Communications skills are a must, of course.

Without that person, we will continue to wander around in the wilderness. This person must be our nomineee in 08. Right now, the closest I see to the right person is Edwards.

And let's define what success looks like. I want the word Republican be like the word Communist was in McCarthy's day, as in, "I am not now, nor have I ever been, a member of the Republican party." Or, "Isn't it true, madame secretary, that for many years you were an open and avowed member of the Republican Party, and even had dinner on more than one occasion with impeached President Bush?" "Good heavens, no. I never even met the man!" "Thank you, Secretary Rice."

And so on.