DEMS THE FACTS:

Recently I had a conversation with a man I've had the pleasure of knowing for about 7 years. I worked for and with him and am proud to call him a friend. He lives just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and little girl.

Bob is a believer and considers himself a conservative Christian. Suffice to say he voted for Bush twice. I remember years ago we used to have spirited discussions about politics. We'd go back and forth on the issues, both making spirited attempts to convert the other and neither one budging one bit.

However this conversation went a bit different. There was something about our conversation that seemed to go a little deeper. The argument was far more spirited than it had been in years past. Both of us seemed entrenched in our own view points. I wouldn't call it bitter, but let's just say that the usual zings that we would fling at one another seemed more like barbs.

I remember feeling sad when the call ended as though something new had been added. I had known about his politics for some time, as had he about mine, but it never interfered with our friendship. And while I'm not prepared to say that I've lost a friend, there is that sinking feeling that occasionally comes over you when you realize how differences can change the dynamic of a relationship. It's like that scene in Ben Hur when Charlton Heston realizes that the boy he grew up being friends with is now his master and wants him to betray his comrades. You can see the sadness in his eyes.

Now of course I'd be silly if I thought that Bob was asking me to betray anybody. In fact, at no time could I ever consider him doing that, but it was a feeling of sadness nonetheless.

That feeling quickly turned to anger, not at the Republicans and not at the Christian Right, although certainly there is much to be angry about with the way they have polarized this nation. No, this anger was and is directed at the Democrats. That's right, kids, the Democrats.

In my mind I keep seeing this image of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. All throughout last year's national campaign I kept waiting for the Democrats to step up and give the country a genuine alternative to George Bush. They never did. While the administration kidnapped my religion and perverted it for political gain, the Kerry campaign acted like they couldn't even spell God!

Being in sales I've learned that you need to give the customer a reason for buying your product. You need to form your own identity, as it were. Saying you're better than the guy down the block without saying why or how doesn't cut it in the real world. I believe the electorate wanted an alternative to George Bush, and would've voted for it had the Democrats given them one. THEY DIDN'T! The Kerry campaign's slogan might just as well have been, "Vote for me. I'm not Bush!"

Well, that's not a good enough reason. In places like Cincinnati and Dallas and Atlanta and Tampa and Oklahoma City and St. Louis that slogan failed miserably. While a lot of us watched the debates and may have thought Kerry had won on points, down in the breadbasket of the country old W. came out on top. Kerry seemed arrogant and smug; Bush came off as one of the boys. We paid dearly as a nation for that arrogance.

There is an old axiom in sports that says you never let your opponent dictate how the game will be played. Somehow that rule was forgotten in 2004. Until the Democratic party can come together and forge a message of hope that the WHOLE country can galvanize around we will continue to have to contend with candidates that appeal, sadly, to our basic instincts and fears. The result will be four more years of divisiveness.

These are some of the things that they can try on for size.
1. Acknowledge and respect people of faith as a viable force in politics. P.S. it would help to have someone run who actually believes in God and doesn't have a problem saying it.
2. Stop blaming the Republicans for winning and start learning how they did it. People hate sore losers.
3. Stop nominating people who talk like Harvard professors. People, especially those in the south, hate being talked down to like they're stupid.
4. Pick someone who doesn't come from New England! Can you spell BILL RICHARDSON?
5. No, not Hilary! She's a fine senator. Let's leave her do her job.
6. Don't lose site of your core principles. Fighting for the poor, protecting the rights of minorities, and safeguarding our environment should still be the benchmark of any true democrat, but they needn't take a back seat to values, either. The country doesn't need two double gangers running in '08.

During the 2000 Presidential primaries, Maria and I watched with great interest as two candidates - John McCain a Republican and Bill Bradley a Democrat - were vying for their respective party's nomination. Both men had integrity and a vision for the nation. Either man would've been an excellent choice for President. Instead what we got was George Bush and Al Gore.

2008 is closer than you think. Let's pray that a man, or woman for that matter, emerges who is a true leader, who represents ALL of the people, who's faith in God and commitment to those less fortunate will be a true representation of Christ, and who will be a president we can ALL be proud of.

Amen!