|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tonight, we sheathe our swords
From Paul Begala
Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN analysts, anchors, and correspondents share their experiences in covering news around the world. In a mock conciliatory moment, Democratic analyst and Crossfire host, Paul Begala walked through the CNN newsroom. "Tonight, we sheathe our swords and join hands and work together to solve our nation's most difficult problems," Begala said, tongue in cheek. James Carville, his partner on the left, responded: "Never, not I. I'll not sheathe my sword. I'm ready to wield it, to fight on ...." A few minutes later, Carville put a trash can on his head and conceded in his own way. For Begala, this was an election year in which the Democrats lost, as much as one in which Republicans had won. "I was looking in The New York Times the other day and there was a poll that showed that 31 percent of the people believed that the Democrats had a plan for the country. That's not enough, " Begala said as he started to reflect on a night that was not going the way he had hoped it would. "They tried to co-opt Bush on taxes and Iraq, and they didn't have any of their own positions. There was nothing left for them run on. The party didn't take the Republicans on and challenge any of the president's policies. "Midterm elections are supposed to be about holding onto your base, and the Democrats didn't do anything to appeal to their base. "Take what happened in Georgia as an example. Max Cleland is an incumbent senator, I think he did do a good job in a tough state, and he ran a good campaign, and Saxby Chambliss, a Republican congressman, came in and beat him. Why? I think Max went along with Bush on the tax cut, he went along with Bush on the war with Iraq, and Bush came in here and beat his ass. "There should be a lesson there: If you vote with Bush and you're a Democrat, he's going to come into your state and beat your ass anyway. "Cleland should have at least been against Bush; Bush was going to come in and try to kill him anyway. He should have at least stood up to him and gotten the Democrats out to vote for him, and he might be senator still today. "This has been a good day for Bush. Congratulations to him. He did a good job today."
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
