I saw it over at Huffpost as well.

K

It’s not so much that the average American is deeply engaged or extremely sage, it’s more of a “been there, done that” weariness.

Not to mention the bullshit meters pegging out.

Still, the pushback from the left is so very important–we get none from the chattering classes and the Steny’s of our party.

Glenzilla has been hitting this theme for a long time now, the immense gulf between the corporate media and their cocktail weenie circuit buddies whom we elect, and the American people.

They just don’t get it.

This is the same mindset that told us all week that MoveOn’s ad was Very Bad for Democrats, tut tut, clutch pearls, swoon to the sofa, grab smelling salts, etc.

It was neither good nor bad for the Democratic Party. It was mainly obtuse.

The suggestion that MoveOn.org had any measureably positive effect on antiwar sentiment is without basis. Messrs. Crocker and Petraeus deserve all the credit for the latest Pew results, I feel certain. I can imagine the sea change in antiwar sentiment had MoveOn.org actually become involved in some sort of positive action. The mere absence of the drag factor of what they ended up doing would’ve assured that outcome.

Palast said that Perot got 19 million votes from working people who were frantic about losing our jobs and scared to death of NAFTA. He said that Gore had a once-in-a-generation opportunity that night to build an FDR-size majority that would have lasted for generations. A majority so big that Karl Rove’s biggest bag of tricks wouldn’t have been enough to swing elections. All Gore had to do was invite those working class Perot voters into the Democratic Party.

Palast said that instead, Gore went beyond just winning the debate and treated Perot with contempt and condescension. He said that when Gore did that, all of the people who voted for Perot knew that Gore was sneering at them.

He said that Clinton seemed genuinely stunned when the 1994 elections went against the Democrats with such vengance, but that all of it could be traced back to Gore’s behavior toward Perot in that debate.

For me, that explains why the press and the Republicans have made such a habit of mocking Gore. They were playing to those almost 20 million working stiffs Gore alienated in the debate with Perot.

Palast also quipped that the event is also a ready answer if Gore ever presumes to say no one lost their job because of NAFTA. The response would be to tell Gore, “Hey, YOU did.”

Kerry is Steny Hoyer with a longer history. Hillary is just a tap-dancing fool.

OK, that’s Dems. The corresponding numbers among Independents (the ones Steny’s so worried about us losing if we rein Bush in) are 48% think Cong. Dems are not going far enough, and 18% think they’re going too far.

The numbers among Dems are the same as June – and even more independents think Cong. Dems aren’t going far enough now than they did in June.

The only people being fooled by the Bush/Betrayus PR push are Republicans and D.C. elites.

Hey Steny, have you figured out which one you are yet? Does it make a difference?

A very small point, but there are a LOT of young progressive knitters out here, try not to lump us in with Georgetown harridans, please!

Wendy! Thanks for saying that. I’m glad knitting is coming back in fashion. I used to be a young progressive knitter. Now I am a not-quite-as-young progressive knitter. Obviously Pach has a gap in his knitting awareness. ;)