A Winning Day for Democrats [View All]

Last week's five presidential primaries and two caucuses, held in far-flung regions of the country, confirmed that Democrats are looking for a mainstream candidate who can build on the Clinton legacy and challenge George W. Bush with a strong critique and a positive alternative agenda.

All three of the day's "winners" fit that profile. They include the clear front-runner, Sen. John Kerry, who won Missouri, Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Delaware; his leading challenger since Iowa, Sen. John Edwards, who won South Carolina; and Gen. Wesley Clark, who won a photo finish with Edwards in Oklahoma. No matter which man Democrats choose as their nominee, they've already made a wise choice about the kind of party, and the kind of campaign against George W. Bush, they really want.

Kerry's broad experience, Edwards' powerful message, and Clark's national security stature give Democrats a choice of candidates with a common governing philosophy. All three have solid New Democrat credentials. All three appear willing and able to put together a national general election coalition that combines an enthusiastic Democratic base with a persuasive appeal to independents and other swing voters. All three seem to understand not only the president's growing vulnerabilities, but also the need to reassure Americans about the willingness of Democrats to fight and win the war on terror, while expanding economic opportunity, restoring fiscal responsibility, and reforming government. All three appear ready to counter the inevitable Republican slurs on their values and their approach to cultural issues.

The emergence of this strong Democratic presidential field is already having a positive impact on public perceptions of the party, especially in contrast to the lackluster performance of the president in his State of the Union Address and his red-ink-stained and mendacious budget. A national Gallup/CNN/USA Today survey released this week showed President Bush sinking to his lowest personal rating (52 percent favorable, 47 percent unfavorable) and job approval rating (49 percent favorable, 48 percent unfavorable) since 9/11. On specific issues, respondents gave the president a negative approval rating on the economy, foreign affairs, the reconstruction of Iraq, and health care policy. And in head-to-head trial heats, Sen. Kerry and Sen. Edwards are running ahead of Bush.

But the Gallup survey also shows a reversal of public opinion about the two major parties. Last March, Gallup showed the Republican Party with a favorable/unfavorable ratio of 56-33. Now it's degenerated to 48-45. Over the same time span, ratios for the Democratic Party have improved from 49-39 to 59-34. The evolution of the Democratic presidential nominating contest from a competition dominated by anger to one dominated by hope has played an important role in this change of public perceptions.

In a real sense, George W. Bush was the big loser in last week's results, and all Democrats were the big winners.

http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=131&subid=192&contentid=252372

Well, all dems were big winners except the ones who who would rather see Bush in office again than vote for a candidate who doesn't pass their purity test.