Letter: Democratic Party must find charismatic candidate

The reason for the Republican victory Tuesday night lies more in the current weakness of their opponent than in the political attitude of the country. The leadership of the Democratic Party has decided to sacrifice principles to political calculation, yet, with the exception of former President Bill Clinton, nobody in the leadership of the Democratic Party has any skill for political calculation. In failing to provide principled opposition to the prospect of war with Iraq while allowing this issue to dominate the debate, pushing aside topics such as Social Security and energy policy, the Democrats have been attempting to separate themselves from the Republicans without directly opposing the popular president. They are in the position of doing neither what is popular nor what is right.

Former pollster Pat Caddell, a Democrat far more disgruntled than myself, has pointed out that the Democratic Party, by joining the Republicans in selling out to corporate interests, has gotten itself into a fight that it cannot win since Republicans actually believe in corporate interests. In order to return to power, Democrats must return to the principles of social justice that made them Democrats in the first place. Clinton succeeded by moving to the center mainly through the force of his personality. The current front-runners for the Democratic nomination in 2004--former Vice President Al Gore, Senator Tom Daschle, and Represenative Dick Gephardt--are the worst possible candidates for the party because they lack both charisma and conviction. The party must find new leadership by 2004, or else the long two years facing this nation will become a long six years.