Although you are not an elected leader, I still perceive myself as one of your "constituents" in the sense that I am a fellow Democrat and METROPOLIS resident who has no voice in the DNC chair selection process except to appeal to you.

There are a great many of us who feel that our party is being led by men who are afraid to stand up for their own principles. They follow the polls and position themselves strategically, rather than following their hearts. I understand that taking a principled stand often seems like political suicide. It rarely is: only one senator had the guts to commit political suicide by voting against the patriot act, and he was reelected in a landslide. But there is a subtler form of political suicide. Whenever a politician follows the polls, instead of speaking from the heart, people can sense it, and they will reject it. Certainly, the voters have been rejecting us too often.

The antidote is true leadership. Positioning yourself means changing your views until they match those of the electorate. Leadership means changing the views of the electorate until they match yours.

Positioning versus leadership: that is the fundamental decision you will have to make in February. I'm sure at the deliberations over the DNC chair, you're going to hear a lot of talk about whether the party needs to "move left" or "move right." The thing I'd like you to remember is that no matter which direction you move, you've embraced positioning, and abandoned leadership.

The DNC chair selection is an important opportunity. The DNC chair has the potential to be a coach for all the Democratic statesmen. It is my hope that with the right coach, we might be able to encourage them to speak more clearly to their principles, and to have less fear of political suicide - to be leaders, not positioners. I also believe that leadership is a skill, and that without that skill, one is left with no option other than positioning. The DNC chair needs to be somebody who is not only capable of leadership, but also capable of teaching that skill to others. Finally, I think that the voice of leadership is always stronger when it is part of a chorus. The DNC chair has the potential to be the person who crafts a single simple message for the Democratic Party; and makes sure that all the statesmen are echoing that message.

Those of us who have been discussing this have varying opinions on who should be the chair. My preference is PREFERREDCHAIR, but understand that I am not wedded to this particular selection: if you know of somebody who would be even more effective at giving our party a "spine transplant," if you know of somebody who would more powerfully drive our statesmen to speak up for their values, if you know of somebody who would be more likely to craft a bold message for the party as a whole, then by all means, choose that person. But I beg you not to discard somebody merely because his outspoken beliefs triggered some anger on the other side. Doing so would be to reject leadership and embrace positioning. That is what has been killing our party for years.