She Needs To Seem Tough, And Whatever

While Negativity Is Politically Useful, It Is Also Demoralizing Unless It Is Accompanied - And To Some Extent Overshadowed - By Elevated And Inspiring Ideas About The American Future.

By Keeping Most Tax Rates At Present Levels, Obama And The Democrats Will Claim That They Have Championed Tax Cuts For The Middle Class.

Memories Of The Last Nine Years Have Turned Ground Zero From A Site Of Horror, To A Reminder Of Grief, To An Occasion For Ludicrous Artistic Posturing - And Now To Something Very Close To Parody.

For Obama To Save Himself, He Should Be Thinking About The Example Of An Unlikely Republican Predecessor: Richard Nixon.

If You Want To Know Why Republicans And Conservatives Are In A Political Crisis, You Need Only Consider The Fact That The Right's Deeply Held View Now Boils Down To This: Taxes Should Not Go Up On The Wealthy, And Your Health Benefits Should Be Cut.