George,

Voting for Dean is assisted suicide. While he may do very well in a Democrat caucus or nominiating convention, he will not win in a general election. As you know active Dems very often lean left. Pushing Dean may feel good, but it will ultimately fail. Bill Clinton did not come off as a Liberal. In fact, he won because Dems were sick and tired of loosing and chose the one candidate that could also appeal to moderates and independents. Another key point. Democrats will never win the Presidency by simply attacking Bush. As my fellow Republicans learned ... being united in our disdain of Clinton was not enough for victory. Your best candidate for ultimate victory will be Wesley Clark. Of course ... he will probably loose his mind during the campaign because the process is such a nightmare. Military guys don't like others getting tough with them.

Lastly, I believe the Democrat party has lost their way. The last thing you guys were correct on was Civil Rights. Since then your approach has been one of scaring the electorate with the evils of Republicans. People's lives move on. When they see that retirees are not starving and they are getting their medication, and that school lunch programs are continuing, the rhetoric does not ring true. Also, while you may think issues like gay marriage is important, frankly most people could care less.

This is not to say that Republicans don't bash Democrats too ... it's just that when Michael Kinsley describes "the importance of freedom ..how people yearn for it, how other cherished values depend on it, how it will triumph" as a cliché ... you realize that many Democrats do not understand the American Heartland and it's values in any way. (The quote was in the July 25 Washington Post.

The Heartland are your voters.

And sadly ... you are in the in enviable position of hoping for a bad economy, more job loss and war turmoil.

Good luck,

Your friend in the opposition, Tyler Sewell (electronic mail, July 29, 2003)