Has anything the democrats have offered even been considered by Dubya? Without any control over the house, senate or executive branch is there really any point? Hell, no! He doesn't listen to voices of dissent in his own party, and he sure as heck isn't listening to anyone else. He is the most divisive leader the country has had in this century. His administration has analysts canned who don't provide the conclusion that they know is expected of them. (And he nominates folks like Bolton who follow this very pattern too...)

Democrats actually have had an agenda of dealing with the budget problems (you know the ones they fixed before Dubya wrecked it again) for dealing with Social Security and Medicare issues. More importantly, they have had ideas about fixing the very broken medical/insurance system with its 13% annual inflation rate. Unfortunately, the right wingers start the "liberal, liberal, liberal, nyya, nyyya, nyyya, nyyy, nyyaa" and it degenerates from there. Bush actually borrowed quite a few issues to take as his own...but of course with some screwed up approach that won't work as its centerpiece.

Has Bush done anything that has really worked? I've yet to see it. Has he been even within 50% on any number he has projected? Again, I have yet to see it. There is the Midas touch, and then there is its opposite, the "merde" touch. Dubya has the latter.

What the democrats have lacked (post Clinton) is a strong charismatic moderate leader to unite the base and put forward a plan. The democrats have long had a rather diverse base. The Republicans have been regimented with a Borg like approach to govt where everyone is required to vote the party line. Personally, I have more respect for independent thought than blind obedience.

So what can they do at the moment? Resist the more inept appointments and proposals, and wait. Anything they propose is going to be warped into something that none of them would support. It's not like an admin that can fabricate WMD evidence to go to war is going to give any opposing view a fair hearing. Eventually the delirium of the country's conservative fever is going to break and folks will realize we have an economy adrift with no course set for the future, that we have a runaway Republican budget, we have runaway healthcare costs, an overstretched military that has been poorly supported by the administration, and a deficit that is growing by $500 billion or so each year. I hope that the fever breaks on its own, rather than from some new trauma.

I've always gotten a hearty laugh at watching conservatives huddle together, cult-like, reinforcing one anothers views.