Dianne Feinstein is taking a lot of heat for voting yes on the Medicare package and Kerry is taking some heat for not remaing in the senate to put a "no" on record.

I think the latter issue is a non-issue. Kerry is in a dog fight for the nomination. The voting process could easily shave 2-3 hours of his time and at this stage in the game, every hour counts. An hour lost is one less hour pressing the flesh, communicating his vision with seniors, students, veterans, etc. Kerry is on record with where he stands on this issue, it is not like he can nuance his stance if he enters into debate with Bush.

As for Feinstein, this is precisely why I respect her and think she is fit for national leadership. She honestly believes that this is good for California which she serves. her argument that is that California has very strict Medicaid asset requirements and this bill allows a quarter of a million Californians who do not meet the Californian Medicaid requirement to get Medicare.

She is promising to watch this very closely and I believe her. I think her level headedness will give her leverage to work at fixing the Bill.

Herein lies the problem. The Republicans have a coherent strategy to get items of the table and "deliver." We see no overall strategy with the Democrats. If Dean wins the nomination, it'll get worse because, like Clinton's first two years, this man will not be able to get stuff passed his first tw o years. Dean has called Congress cockroaches and has reviled his party. Now, that's easy to say to people who are not in the know, which is most of the public. However, most politcal watches know that the Democrats in congress have fought tooth and nail to prevent some bad legislation, to mute the right wing thrust of congress and the president, and to propose alternatives. Dean has dissed them all saying they do nothing. This is not going to grant him a free pass with his party.

A Kerry or Gephardt on the other hand would be in a much better position to work with his party and reach out to moderate Republicans and get some things done. Right now, the Democratic party needs real leadership and that can only come from one place, John Kerry.

Bill Clinton laid an interesting course for the Democratic party, that was centrist and progressive. John Kerry can continue that, but add his own unique and exceptional qualities especially on national security. Dean has now found it politically expedient to reverse the Clinton direction and re-regulate and become more protectionist, and also cut entitlements (Gingrich is beaming broadly). I certainly hope and pray that John Kerry can win this nomination so that the Democratic party can continue on its new course. Otherwise, Dean will redefine the party again and weaken it further.