RE: FINDING THEIR VOICE AS THE AGENTS OF CHANGE
The state of the country and the Democrats on[e] year before 2008 election
If Americans have ever been angrier with the state of the country, we have not witnessed it; certainly not in 1992 when discontented voters brought the Republican Party down to an historic low, giving one in five of their votes to an unstable 3rd party candidate and putting Bill Clinton in the White House. The scale of today’s discontent is evident in the 70 percent who now say the country is off on the wrong track and in George Bush’s job approval and personal ratings, now at their lowest levels ever.
But that number is a superficial read of the contempt and deep frustration with the leaders of the country and our times; a period that leaves America trapped in an unnecessary war, while neglecting to take care of things at home and protect its own borders and jobs and living standards; a period that leaves the average middle class person struggling with rising costs, medical and gas bills, while politicians and big business special interests take care of themselves, not the country. They believe America is losing ground to countries around the world that are rushing to catch up, while our leaders are rudderless. The biggest challenge and opportunity one year out from the 2008 election is whether the Democrats will become the voice of that change.
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