>It seems clear that the Left (both inside and outside the DP) will
>be out of commission for quite a few years until it can figure out
>how to neutralize the "values" issues (conservative religion,
>homophobia (reduced but still active), "pro-life," etc.).
Yup. It's not just a delusion or a con job - it's the deeply ingrained common sense of a very large part of the U.S. population. Nonhispanic white men - 36% of the electorate - went for Bush by 18 points. Nonhispanic white women - 41% of the electorate - went for Bush by 4. Some of this is class interest - a third of the electorate had incomes above $75,000. But below that, as they say, it's gods, guns, and gays - issues felt on a deeply passionate level, organized around fear. Karl Rove didn't put that fear there. He took advantage of it, but the causes are a lot more complicated.
Doug