The real problem here

I watched the SotU last night, and the Dem. response. Of all the things that were said, of all the things that were implied, and all the times I was angry, there's one particular issue that is still sticking with me. W said:

"Yet there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success,
and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure. Hindsight alone
is not wisdom. And second-guessing is not a strategy."

Boy, I was angry. What unmitigated gaul, to smack at his dissenters in the speech. W, You ignore responsible criticism in the same way you ignore anyone who isn't in your groupthink- how would you know the difference? By the way, hindsight may not be wisdom but learning from your mistakes is, and hearing second-guesses is a good way to find alternatives.

I remebered these words of W's when I listened to Gov. Tim Kaine's response. I was disappointed. No, wait, that's not fair- more accurately, I thought it was horrible. He didn't address much of the SotU, spent forever trumpeting how well his state of Virginia has done, and had weak presence. My husband argued with me here extensively; he felt Kaine had done a pretty good job and addressed many issues. For anyone who knows us personally, it's no surprise how this went next- we quickly found the text of the Kaine's speech online and argued our points using the individual words from the speech.

The more I read the speech, I realize Kaine did address some of the points in the SotU. He talked about Medicaid cuts, the war on terror and the related issue of border security, veterans' benefits, underfunding of No Child Left Behind- he hit on a lot of the highlights. So, why did I despise his speech so much?

The Mr. Rogers-like stance. The arguing of how poorly the Repubs have done. The permeating theme of "Together, we can do better." That's what was really bothering me.

There's no strength in it, no leadership, no real message.

The phrase "Together, we can do better" is the theme for the Dems this year, so we'll be hearing it a lot. They're right; it can be technically argued that truly, if we bind together we can do better than the Repubs have given us these last years. However, it's not a message or a leadership stance- it sounds like we're begging for a chance. It defines the Dems based on what they are NOT- the implied object to "do better" is "than the Repubs have done."

Americans crave leadership. That's why we elect the people we do- we want them to LEAD US. We follow morons because they step up and take the reins. We vote in corrupt liars because they show strength when we are afraid of weakness. We don't want another policy wonk in a sweater explaining why his way is better- we need someone to show some backbone, dammit, and push through the pack to the front and LEAD.

This is what has bothered with me since last night's speeches: the president was right. Hindsight alone is not wisdom, and second-guessing is not a strategy. Right now, that's how the Dems seem to moderates, undecideds and Repubs; instead of steping up to the front of the class and taking charge, the Dems seem like kids in the back passing notes about how stupid the teacher is. It doesn't matter at all that that's not what the Dems are doing; that's how they are seen, and that does matter. When will the Democrats learn what the Repubs figured out a long time ago- all the good policy in the world, all the noble intentions and brilliant plans mean nothing if you can't get elected? If you can't present a coherent message that people can get behind, no one will hear about your good candidates and excellent bills.

For goodness sake, LEAD already.