Dean lost the Democratic nomination, but Deanism dominates the party. The left is ascendant and the center isn’t holding. The central national security problem of the Democrats is that the activists, bloggers and even many leaders of the party view President Bush as more of an enemy than the Jihadists, mullahs and Zaqawis who seek to do us harm. Unfortunately, in the face of this dynamic, Beinart has softened his stance in contrast to the much tougher stand he took in the article upon which this book is based.
Meanwhile, Joe Lieberman’s courageous consistency has prompted the left to attempt to drive the most prominent, and one of the few remaining Truman Democrats out of the party. It is fine to urge Democrats to shun Michael Moore. It would be finer to now mount a defense of a Democrat who truly represents the legacy of those Democrats who met at the Willard Hotel so long ago.

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