This book was really good and well argued. Written in 2004 it's wickedly prescient about the events of today. Like any good manifesto it states the facts as they are, then gives actionable items for what we liberals need to do. It almost seems as if Obama did follow some of these suggestions and that's how he got elected but, unfortunately, none of the other democrats followed them.

I wanted to share a passage that I thought was spot on.

This one was about tax breaks for the rich. He argues that it is anti-conservative to support policy that is unproven, "For example, even if you believe that giving giant tax breaks to rich people who are already fabulously wealthy will cause them to invest the extra money in new factories and machines, and hence grow the economy, you've got to admit it's a big gamble. If the Radcons [radical conservatives] are wrong about this, a lot of things go wrong: The federal budget goes bust, long-term interest rates go sky-high, and baby boomers don't get the Social Security or Medicare they're counting on."

Well, that's what happened, the federal budget is going bust and conservatives are trying to get rid of social security.

He also explained why conservative brought up William Ayers during the Obama campaign (4 years before they did it). It's the obsession of conservatives with the 60s left. The conservatives hate what they see as the radical 60s (free love, anti-american) and they paint liberals with that brush as much as they can. With Bill and Hillary, who were students in the 60s it was easier, but President Obama was born in 1961 so he couldn't have participated in the 60 radical movements, so they had to find someone to connect him to no matter how tenuous. Reading this book was like having a guide to the conservative playbook.

He also points out one of the biggest problems with Democrats is that we're not unified. The democratic party and liberals in general are too all over the place when it comes to issues. We have some who are big on the environment, others on abortion, still others who make minority issues their top priority. But they don't all stand together on everything. Though most regular people may have different views about what's most important to them when it comes to being a Republican, the party stands firm with an all or nothing view. If you're a Republican politician you will oppose abortion, gun control, tax increases, and be tough on immigration. You'll proclaim that science is "iffy" if it doesn't support your views. Democrats don't stand a chance.

It's a great book and I highly recommend it to liberals who want some guidance. Perhaps we should purchase a copy for all of the Democrats in Congress.