Can't wait to read this one!
Former Democratic Party chief Terry McAuliffe will release a political memoir Jan. 23 that dishes on the last 10 years or so of Democratic politics. Titled, "What a Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators, and Other Wild Animals," it was mentioned in today's Drudge Report for the swings it takes against 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry.
McAuliffe, who is close to the Clintons, was in a position to see much and hear even more. He attacks Kerry for "political malpractice" in the way he ran his campaign. I would tend to agree with that: War hero Kerry made a huge mistake by not coming out swinging against the so-called Swift Boat Veterans who smeared him repeatedly in the summer of 2004. McAuliffe wanted to attack George W. Bush's own military record more harshly, but was held back by Kerry for fear of offending "swing" voters. Bush won by the slimmest of margins, which makes the might-have-beens even more infuriating.
I do think the party largely, but not completely learned its lesson in the 2004 debacle. So-called "centrism," which is defined as being as much like the Republicans as you can get away with (and without vomiting), took a major hit. Hugging the mushy middle took a major hit. Howard Dean, the current Democratic Party chairman, deserves a lot of credit for the 2006 election results. Here's what he said today:
"In 2006 Americans sent a crystal clear message. As the war in Iraq continued and ordinary people struggled to make ends meet, scores of Republicans at every level of government were removed from office by the voters, every single Democrat running for reelection as a Senator, Governor, or Representative was reelected -- every single one. It didn't happen by accident. It happened by building a strong opposition party with a clear message of change."
I couldn't have said it better.