Why the Democrats Lose / What they need to win.

Excellent article, I recommend that everyone follow the link and read it. Some highlights below.

Americans should not be complacent about the fact that we have not been hit by another terrorist attack since 9/11.

Democrats must convince the public that we are ready to take over the fight against Islamist extremism.

Although married women voted for Clinton in the 1990s, they preferred George Bush over Al Gore by 15 points in 2000. By 2004, the "marriage gap" had widened to 19 points.

middle-class voters do not really see Democrats as champions of their economic interests. Instead, they identify Democrats most with means-tested social programs aimed at poor and working poor families.

In fact, the white working middle class (voters making between $30,000 and $75,000 a year) - once the heart of the New Deal coalition - is now the mainstay of the Republican majority. According to a study by Third Way, Bush beat John Kerry by a whopping 22 points among white middle-class voters.

Likewise, Democrats need a positive economic message that speaks to these voters' aspirations, not their fears. Above all, they want to hear ideas that can help them get ahead and realize their ambitions, not alarmist rhetoric about how globalization is crushing their hopes.

Many Democrats, for example, cling to the illusion that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid can be preserved in their 1935 and 1965 incarnations. They reject later retirement as well as progressive indexing or means testing of benefits-both necessary to create a modern retirement system for a rapidly aging society. Some imagine latent public support for a government-dominated health program like Britain's or Canada's. Others continue to defend an archaic public education monopoly that is chronically failing poor and minority kids.