Very savvy point. I think what frustrates so many of us with the Democratic Party right now (and let's be clear, this is the kind of passion that develops between family members ... there's no doubt they are our party and we'll only attain political power when they do) is that they're so bleeping incompetent when it comes to basic, practical, nuts and bolts politics. I believe this is because for so long the party didn't really need its A game to maintain majorities in Congress, and the worst that could happen presidentially is some moderate, genteel Republican like Eisenhower could serve for a couple terms. That all changed with Reagan and Gingrich and then DeLay. The old (consultant) guard within the party can't learn new tricks. They're still trying to win by arranging and re-arranging issues and interest groups, and above all staying safe. And unlike the Repub establishment, they have no sense of sticking together, or party loyalty, that comes from decades in the minority. They're in it for themselves, and will gladly flame Democratic candidates and give them C minus work if it means they keep getting more business.

The new generation sees this very clearly. They DO have a sense of an embattled minority doing whatever it takes, including taking risks, to win. It's still missing Reagan's doctrine of "do no harm to Democrats" (my primary complaint with the netroots) but we'll get there too. This is a generational change happening before out eyes, born of the Republican evolutions of 1980 and 1994. And it is happening. It just takes a little time.