Dems Turning Over New Leaf?

I’m wondering if someone finally got through to the Dem leadership about their persistently negative, anti-Bush, never-offer-anything-constructive message. Two news items today perhaps justify that inference, one involving screaming Howard, and the other Terry McAwful.

In this transcript of Howard’s remarks at a DNC event we can see that the screamer is flirting with the positive. He said:

But right now, as important as all of that is, it is not enough. We have to move forward. We cannot win if all we are is against the current President.

Is it any coincidence that Mad Howard’s predecessor, Terry McAwful, writing for USA Today, said:

And yet, we clearly lost the election for president. Now the party has a choice: to wallow and stagnate or to push forward with our mission of rebuilding the party and returning it to the people.

I realize we don’t have an exact match here, but we at least have both party honchos paying lip service to a more positive direction. But if you think this is indicative of a trend, think again. The party’s obsession with President Bush is too deeply rooted to be removed overnight. But if they do decide, as a party, to present their own agenda for a change — as opposed to just tearing down the president — I’m not sure anyone will view it as positive. We shall see.

In the meantime, I thought I’d point out one other little interesting statement in Mad Howard’s speech. Did you catch his Moses metaphor (the 40 years wilderness wanderings)>? Howard said:

Republicans wandered around in the political wilderness for 40 years before they took back Congress. But the reason we lost control is that we forgot why we were entrusted with control to begin with.

Perhaps secular Howard thinks he can recapture the values voters with such scriptural allusions. Look for more of these as the mad secular one gets comfortable in his new position.