The Democratic Race

Using our really good discussion on the Democratic party here as a launchpad, I want to explore a possibility that would have seemed laughable even a few months ago.:

Suddenly the 2008 Democratic primaries have some pretty serious wattage. The GOP will laugh it off and mock some of them, but to do so will be to whistle past the graveyard. Hillary, Gore, Kerry, Biden, and if Jason Zengerle is to be believed, maybe even Barack Obama (that sound you hear is a whole cadre of Democrats going tumescent) make up a formidable lineup. Hillary may be the presumptive frontrunner, but Gore is looking more and more like not only a viable candidate, but a truly formidable one. After eight years of a disastrous Bush administration, Gore and his handlers ought to have a pretty sound case to make. People forget that Gore was not only wstrong on foreign policy issues, on matters related to terrorism he was hauntingly prescient. And he seems a lot more likable and comfortable in his skin today than he did six years ago. Kerry frightens all of us, but in this race he is likely to be at best the third candidate, and this is a guy who with a bit of luck and without the loathsome and contemptible Swift Boat veterans for Truth may even have been able to take Ohio, and thus the election. Biden could be the dark horse. And an obama candidacy has to scare the pants off of the Republicans. This leaves out Edwards, Bayh, Warner and Feingold, who lack the wattage but would certainly up the quality and range of the field.

The 2008 field looks to be a far cry from the "Seven Dwarfs" years of the party. Then again, these are the Democrats, so there is plenty of time for them to screw it up.