The Republicans control the White House and both Houses of Congress. And this is the most domineering White House ever. As a result they are a propaganda machine, cranking out endless spin from the Department of Defense, the State Department, WH, and House and Senate. Cheney sees they are all on the same page, saying the same thing, with disagreement from a Republican being treason.

Their message is an arrow, and if you aren't standing behind them all the way, with us or against us, you're gonna get hit. It's easy to see, and just the one message.

In contrast, the Democrats do not have the advantage of the Executive Branch or Congress. What you see is a more amorphous cloud of messages, coming from all manner of people with all manner of constituents. It is naturally going to seem more disorganized, because it necessarily is.

That's not bad. The US is an amorphous cloud of political interests, of races, of religions.

What it used to stand for, though, is clear. A nation of laws and respect for individuals. Human and civil rights.

That is incongruent with the steamroller in power at present. A completely unified message ain't American, it belongs with Germany in the '30s, with the Soviet Union in the '50s, anywhere there is centralized political power.

Please don't confuse that which represents what American used to stand for with weakness. And don't confuse a single, mindless message with strength.

Arf