Note: This article is written as a companion piece for the one to follow.

In 2004, US Democrats were presented with a very winnable election. A less than popular president, associated with a less than popular war was presiding over an economy that, while improving, was not what we remembered from the 1990's. The Democrats could do no better than John Kerry, whose lack of charisma and a consistent, coherent platform (he should have just made his campaign slogan "Bush sucks!" It probably would have netted him more votes).

As 2008 comes nearer, the Democrats are hoping to regain the keys to the White House, and they seem to have pinned all their hopes exclusively on the Menopausal Messiah, Ms. Hillary Rodham Clinton. They are hoping that Hillary Rodham Clinton's presence will both evoke memories of what many Americans consider to be a happier time under her husband, and will bring out the female supremacist vote en masse to vote with their vaginas rather than with their minds. This pandering shows that the Democratic Party is not long removed from the arguments of those who once opposed women's suffrage because they believed women would simply echo their husband's votes and thus give two votes to the household. And yet, as patronizing as it is, it is the way that the DNC operates, taking for granted the votes of minority groups because they do not seem to realize those groupd are composed of individuals who can and will make up their own minds.

I believe that Hillary Rodham Clinton is the DNC's last gasp for political relevancy. The party has literally put all its eggs in one basket, and if Hillary fails to produce the keys to the executive mansion, this will be a party that will drastically need retooling if it is to survive at all. The DNC has produced NO viable leaders to challenge Hillary in 2008, and, in fact, fringe elements in the Green and Socialist parties have made far more strides in this area, something that will probably help these groups to successfully complete their hijack of the party once the queen of the harpies returns to New York to complete her Senate term.