Stuff To Feel Good About

Stuff For A Democrat To Feel Good About On A Monday

Those Who Know Them Best: Mike Mauro earned the endorsement of two more Republican county auditors today, including longtime Pottawattamie County auditor Marilyn Jo Drake. You may know PottCo as the home county of Mauro's GOP opponent Matt Schultz, so she's crossing not just party lines but hometown lines as well. That's the kind of respect Mike Mauro gets from his fellow election officials.

Joe Klein: ..."there isn't as much of the fist-shaking anger as I expected. There is a minority in this country--perhaps 30%--who are furious and terrified and think that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim-socialist--but most people, even those who disagree with him and disapprove of his performance, admire the effort and seriousness of this President.

There is, however, a tremendous disconnect between what people are concerned about and what Washington--and the media--seem to think is important."

I like the Democrats' chances in that mental framework. We win on the issues, as Steve Benen notes in shooting down calls for a "centrist" (sic) third party:

And what would be better than "pretty good"? A more ambitious health care policy that conservatives blocked; a more ambitious stimulus that conservatives opposed; a comprehensive energy/climate package that conservatives killed; more crack downs on Wall Street that conservatives have vowed to fight; and an education reform agenda that the president has already launched.

In other words, Friedman has effectively endorsed the entirety of President Obama's agenda, most of which has passed, can't pass, or has to be severely watered down because of unprecedented Senate obstructionism. But instead of calling for reforming the legislative process, or calling on Republicans to start playing a constructive role in policymaking, or calling on voters to elect more candidates who agree with the agenda the columnist espouses, Friedman says what we really need is an amorphous third party that will think the way he does.

And the numbers are moving, as Jed Lewison notes at Kos:

"...the GOP may have peaked too early. Taking a victory dance in August may have felt good for them, but it also forced voters to consider the fact that this November they will face a choice between Democrats and Republicans, and a vote for a Republican means turning back to the way things were under Bush -- or worse."

I like the Dems' oddss in that mental framework too.