[Those of you who don't appreciate the overuse of metaphors shouldn't even bother with this article. Go read the latest on Mel Gibson instead. You have been warned.]

President Bush's strategy for peace in the Middle East has always been eerily reminiscent of the Queen of Hearts' proclamation: "Sentence first, verdict afterwards!" It seems to solely consist of the following fantasy: "When peace breaks out, then we'll have a cease-fire." Even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who normally has no problem looking at the world through Bush-tinted glasses) seems almost embarrassed trying to explain this concept to the rest of us.

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It shouldn't surprise anyone to hear that the Democrats could have made a bold visionary change, but instead decided to tinker around the edges of a problem. While I'm glad they're attempting anything new at all, I am also once again disappointed in them for missing a golden opportunity.

This lost opportunity was the chance to fundamentally reform our presidential primary system.

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Where are all the "Ban Video Game Violence" crusaders when you need them?

There has been a trend in the television news media over the last decade which needs to be stopped. This trend is to show animated mockups while reporting war stories. These seldom enhance the news value of the story, instead merely giving viewers something to watch while the anchor reads the story.

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How many voters in Red State America would strongly consider electing a Democrat if it meant the cost of their credit cards would go down? How many swing voters would be swung by such an appeal? Most importantly, how many economically-struggling non-voters would take the time to register and vote if they were promised an end to 28% or 29% interest rates on their credit cards? The answers seem obvious, but that doesn't mean the Democratic Party is paying attention.

Last year, Representative Bernie Sanders [Ind-VT], who is currently running for Jim Jefford's Senate seat from Vermont, proposed a "Loan Shark Prevention Act" in the House. He explains it with passion on his website, and in an op-ed piece he wrote, both of which are well worth a read. He doesn't mince words, and shows remarkable backbone in addressing an issue he obviously cares about.

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In my previous post, I examined and graded the new Democratic campaign strategy document "A New Direction For America" (ANDFA) as a whole. After calling for such a document from the Democratic leadership in my book How Democrats Can Take Back Congress, I feel obliged to critique not just the overall plan but also the individual items as well.

All of ANDFA's six bullet points are steps in the right direction. However, each bears the whiff of being overanalyzed by focus groups. It seems like the Democrats started with bold ideas but then watered down and "timidified" them. This may sacrifice the chances of swing voters getting excited enough about these ideas to believe that Democrats can chart a better direction for the federal government.

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Last Friday Nancy Pelosi unveiled "A New Direction For America," the new Democratic campaign strategy for the 2006 midterm congressional elections. This announcement has been a long time coming. The Democrats were initially going to release the plan last year, then early this year. . . then in the spring. . . then at some unmentioned date closer to election day.

Even last week, it was supposed to happen on Wednesday. . . but then Bush stole the news cycle by staging a press conference after his whirlwind visit to Iraq, so they postponed it yet again.

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At least Congress appreciates irony. The following two AP stories appeared within hours of each other, both written by Andrew Taylor:

"House Panel Recommends Minimum Wage Hike"

"House Lawmakers Accept $3,300 Pay Hike"

The first article details how the House Appropriations Committee voted 32-27 to approve an amendment to a health and education bill to raise the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25.

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You've got to hand it to Republicans, they sure know how to demagogue. The Senate spent this week forcing votes on GOP lost causes. First up was the gay marriage amendment, then came repealing the estate tax, and waiting in the wings is a flag-burning amendment. Lefties everywhere have decried these as cheap political stunts designed to generate campaign fodder for the fall midterms.

They're missing the point. Sure, these forced votes are cynical political hackery. The real question is: why can't Democrats manage to do the same? Realistically, since Democrats don't control either house of Congress, they can't schedule floor votes on their issues (or even get them out of committee). But that doesn't mean they can't use the media to effectively start a national debate on their own "hot button" issues.

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