Americans Want a Democrat in the White House. But Americans Also Want an Upbeat, Positive Democrat.

[David Zephyr]

I think it's pretty obvious that Americans are tired of the GOP. The mid-terms, where Democrats don't turn out like Republicans, resulted in shocking Republican losses in Ruby Red States where incumbents were thrown out and replaced by Democrats. We took back the House and Senate and every "generic" poll shows the Democrats favored over the GOP by double digits and have all year long. That's the good news. So what's the bad news?

There is no bad news from our side unless we make it ourselves. I have not decided on a candidate yet, because I like something in everyone of our candidates. It's not what I dislike in any of them so much, but it is the attributes that each one has that makes me want to support them. I've bounced around from candidate to candidate and I'm the first to admit it. I think that, in many ways, I am like many other Democrats who are still undecided and why the polls continue to be so tight and fluid.

I have posted here at the DU smacking John Edwards, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at various times and it almost always was when their campaigns blundered off into doing, what I thought were political tactics beneath all of them. The biggest thing that always sets me off is when they start the mudslinging overtly and covertly.

When John Edwards jumped all over Hillary in the debates, I didn't like it. It was beneath him. And guess what? His poll numbers dropped and Obama's went up. Now that he's stopped it, he's rising again. Isn't it clear what voters are looking FOR? They want to vote FOR someone, not AGAINST them perhaps more than any other time.

When Obama's campaign performed their stealthy little pandering act to homophobes in South Carolina hoping it would stay under the radar, when they at first lied about the extent of the pandering, I jumped all over him here at the DU. It was beneath him and it wasn't necessary for him to have done it.

When Hillary Clinton -- who had run the most amazing campaign I've seen all year long (I called it "flawless") -- let her campaign willingly or unwillingly deter in to the ugly void of personal attacks in a series over the last weeks, I could only shake my head in dismay. So what if Oprah had a big crowd, Hillary could have been big about it, magnanimous about, but that's not what happened. And the low blows about Barack and cocaine was really too much. I posted here that that argument can go both ways as I pointed out. Why? It was beneath her and her brilliant campaign to lower themselves. And now, Hillary is suffering dropping poll numbers.

It's not too late for any of them, but if they keep it up it might be at some point soon.

This election is very different. George W. Bush is so thoroughly discredited that you have to search high and low to find those proud Bush/Cheney bumper stickers anymore that used to drive me nuts for years. The Republicans aren't really on the radar with American voters. Americans want change badly, but they want positive change.

We can gripe and piss and moan here at the DU until the cows come home, but our candidates really need to stay above the fray.

Americans are not DU'ers. They don't take it as seriously as we do. They don't want to see the squabbling and the fighting anymore.

The candidate that lights the candle instead of just cursing the darkness will be our nominee. I am convinced of it.

Maybe that's why I've taken to Joe Biden lately, but I'm not sold on him because he's not really broken out yet as a real contender. He might, but he hasn't.

So I may curse the darkness, you may curse the darkness and we all may curse the darkness. Hell, it is dark!

But which candidate will light the candle? Which candidate will show Americans that we can restore our great promise again? Which candidate will bring hope back, pride back? Which candidate has the most promising map of the future?

Hillary does have it in her. Barack has it in him. John has it in him. Joe has it in him. Bill, Dennis, Chris have it to.

Enough of the darkness! Take us to the sunshine. The one that does will have my vote.