re: Pretty much the way I see it.
I think people tend to overestimate the power of the official Democratic hierarchy. The interesting buzz is coming from the lower levels, the operatives and strategists and organizers who do the real work, and they're pretty much planning to take the Party back from those entrenched pols. Democrats realize that the Party's been putting forth turkeys, and everybody cringes at the thought of Kerry being reanimated and lurching through another election.
The times they are a'changing for both parties, and we'll be better off for it. Political competition--it's a good thing.