George,

The Democrats will hopefully understand,that playing it safe is the surest way to lose.

It would seem, after the Clinton years, that the Dems would understand their opponents "take no prisoners" approach to campaigning. No malicious rumor, vitriolic accusation, lie or distortion is considered off limits. The GOP uses the Vince Lombardi playbook that has as its opening statement,"winning isn't everything,it's the only thing."

My familiarity with politics goes back to the campaign of Wendell Wilkie Vs. Franklin Roosevelt in 1940, although, as a five year old, I could only sense the intense conversations my father, an FDR supporter, and his brother, a Wilkie supporter, would have whenever they were together. My father apparently prevailed, Uncle Jim later became an ardent FDR supporter.

My point here is this: in all the years I was concious of the issues in political contests, I can't recall when they were more clearly defined as they were for this most recent election. Our nation is on a very hazardous path and the most corrosive of the philosophies that stand out in my mind is the cynicism and lack of optimism coming from the Bush Gang. Bush and his minions are obsessed with Iraq, they see war as the only alternative, their recklessness and indifference to the human and financial cost apparently play little role in what they perceive to be good politics. It is an old game of deception and distraction.

From Hitler, to the dictators of Argentina, war was a useful tactic to take the focus off the real "bread and butter" concerns. Saddam Hussein is nut case, albeit, a crafty nut case who has succeeded in making the US the pariah of the world. The brains of the Bush Groupies from Condi Rice to Richard Perle are honeycombed with ambition.They are billed as intelligent and skillful, but so was Hermann Goering. They maintain their power by telling the boy emperor what he wants to hear.

While we are maintaining troops in Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, middle Europe and supporting a very questionable war in Columbia, our infrastructure deteriorates, our schools are below any reasonable standard, our health care nightmare grows worse; the number of uninsured is increasing daily, our corporate corruption and individual crooks go largely unpunished, our transportation system is creating hopeless gridlock around major areas of commerce, our surplus is gone, the deficit soars, our tax code is more biased to the extremely wealthy Americans, our constitutional protections are seen as impediments, by the ruling class, no treaty is honored. The list goes on.

But where were the Democrats? These issues should have been a drumbeat, a clarion call to all Americans, but the most common complaint I have heard from fellow Dems is "they wimped out". The issues were there, almost more than could be hoped for, one might say. The Democrats played it safe and we still took a decisive whipping.

George, we do have a long way to go.

Harry Tenney (electronic mail, November 6, 2002)