How Will They Do It Again?

Let’s be downright honest: The current political situation in this country strongly favors a Democratic victory in the 2008 presidential election. Although the economy is doing fairly well—though not the housing market, it seems—it is safe to say that most Americans are feeling their share of Bush fatigue. (Insert tasteless yuk pertaining to the phrase “Bush fatigue” here.)

Yet we, the crack young staff of “The Hatemonger’s Quarterly,” have the sneaking suspicion that the Democrats may just ruin things again and lose a very winnable election. (Perhaps we should call this Gary Hart Syndrome?)

In fact, we’ve made this case before on the popular “weblog” Wizbang. And more recent evidence leads us to conclude that the Democrats are in more trouble than one might expect. Not more trouble than Lindsey Lohan, mind you, but trouble nonetheless.

To alter a Clintonian turn of phrase, it’s the foreign policy, stupid. On a whole host of issues—social security, abortion, healthcare, Slim Jims, &c.—the American public leans closer to the Democrats than the Republicans. Yet citizens of these here United States of America reasonably question the Dems on one crucial topic: Foreign policy.

Quite frankly, the Democratic presidential contenders express views on foreign policy that appear to fit into one of two camps: Unmitigated pacifism (Kucinich, Gravel) or self-contradictory confusion (everyone else). If you ask us, the Democratic candidate whose views on the topic make the most sense is Joe Biden. Even though we consider many of his positions incorrect, at least it’s clear he knows what he’s talking about. And his hair plugs are pretty fantastic.

Yet Senator Biden is not a top-tier candidate. (You’ll find more Indians in 7-11 than Bidens in the White House.) Hillary Clinton is top-tier, and she appears to vacillate between hawkishness and dovishness in a bewildering combination that simply reeks of John Kerry. Don’t her advisors see this as a bit of a problem?

And Barack Obama? Puh-lease. One minute he says he’ll blithely chat with the leaders of Iran, Syria, and North Korea without any parameters, and the next he’s talking tough about invading Pakistan. Can anyone figure this man out?
Perhaps this merely demonstrates the degree to which the legacy of the Vietnam War has crippled the Democratic Party. Most of its elected officials seem unable to believe that American power can be a force for good—unless, of course, it is flexed in circumstances that do not in any way relate to national interests. (Hello, Darfur.)

So, if you’re a Republican, you may want to get that popcorn ready and enjoy another Democratic implosion. Al Gore’s stunning 2000 loss was pretty remarkable on its own. But, if the Dems don’t get serious about foreign policy in this time of terrorism, their defeat in 2008 will be even more incredible.