Reasonable Opposition

I like to engage in political discussions with reasonable people that have a different point of view. The title of this post links to an article by a reasonable Democrat that has a novel idea about improving his party's electoral prospects--namely, tone down the Anti-Americanism. Here's a sample from his column.

When bad news for America hits the front pages, too often my Democratic peers celebrate it. They only see it as bad news for Bush. They don’t seem to sense that an indictment of a Bush official is one kind of bad news, and a terrorist attack is another. There’s a dissembling art in politics, and they haven’t learned it. Might I suggest that too often they are hamstrung by an essential and relentless pessimism about America’s history and its virtues, its potential and its promise, among the chief spokesmen and women of the movement?

Might I suggest a reacquaintance with the rhetoric of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., as a lesson in how to say, “We are a great nation, but we can do better than this; in fact, we must do better than this, because we are a great nation.”

It is worth reading the whole thing. The point he is making is that political success is often gained when leadership appeals to that which is good in us. An idea to which I subscribe. This is why Ronald Reagan was so great. With him, it was "Morning in America," which was what was needed after the malaise of the Carter Administration. I don't advocate being dismissive toward our society's ills. But, anyone over the age of about 4 knows that we have problems. I just don't believe that most Americans want to follow a party that makes its strongest appeal to our shame (or did I miss that chapter in Leadership 101?).