Reich’s Reprimand - Newsweek Q&A

[question everything]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4164784/

(snip)

NEWSWEEK: “Electability” is the new buzzword for Democrats in this election. What’s your take on that as a strategy?

Robert Reich:It’s more than electability. Electability is nothing more than a self-fulfilling prophecy. If people feel that somebody is electable, then by definition, they become electable. I think the public is looking for someone who they can trust, who appears, by contrast with President Bush, extremely mature and competent, who immerses himself in the details of public policy, again by contrast with the president. Kerry seems to fit the bill in all these respects.

(snip)

Q. Then is this a defining moment for the Dems and those critics who say they are prone to mission drift and unable to construct a cohesive message?

A. The Democratic Party doesn’t really exist as a quote-unquote “party.” The Republicans have a party in terms of a disciplined organization that not only recruits, supports and develops candidates but also maintains itself between elections, has dedicated funding sources, has a system for developing and maintaining a consistent message and for keeping its Congressional caucus, both in the House and the Senate, in line. The Democrats don’t have anything like this.

(snip)

[David Dunham]

1. reich is very smart

[Gman]

2. Reich simply modernized what Will Rogers said in the 1930's...

I don't belong to any organized party. I'm a Democrat.