This diary is a response, in part, to ddigioia's "Memo From a Disillusioned Progressive".
I joined the Democratic Party in late 2003, when a doctor by the name of Howard Dean showed up and performed a backbone transplant. Dean was my first choice for the nomination, and John Edwards was my second, because I thought they'd stand up to the Republicans — and because they were both campaigning with stories rather than laundry lists. The mistake Democrats had made over and over, in my view, was to nominate what I call checklist candidates — candidates who have a whole list of reasons why you should elect them, but who can't turn that list into a compelling theme.
So when the rest of the party made the decision to put John Kerry at the top of the ticket, I was more than a little disappointed.