Quote of the Day – From the Economist’s excellent article on the upcoming midterm elections and the state of the political parties: “The Republicans have a crackpot fringe, too, but the Democratic Party often sounds as though it consists of little else. “

Here’s the concluding paragraph of the article:

Somehow, the Democrats must harness their activists' rage without themselves sounding unelectably shrill. And it would help if they offered voters some bold, purposeful reasons to back them. Their current platform is not, as Newt Gingrich put it, a mere “Contract with San Francisco and Vermont”. But neither is it a compelling vision of America's future. That said, it may be enough to win in November. After looking at the latest opinion surveys, a Republican pollster called Tony Fabrizio said: “The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one.”

There’s that Contract with America again. I find it baffling that the Democrats dismiss the extraordinary success of that 1994 GOP campaign as an anomoly. Essentially, the Dems are in a sub-radar crouch on the issues, hoping that gas prices stay high.