Democrats should be seen as the leaders of the future, not followers or obstructionist nay sayers.

The Party cannot come first. Winning for the party cannot be the objective - it must be winning for the people.

The issues cannot be simplified to simply point/counter-point but rather must be part of promoting a long-term vision. Presenting numbers that can and will be argued back and forth does not work. It clouds the issues for those in the middle: instead of choosing and buying into a vision, they are faced with interpreting which set of numbers seems more credible or guessing as to the motivations behind the presented solutions.

True leaders do more than cite the shortcomings of others. I just don't see a vision right now that is composed of: here is the priority, here is what we want to do, and here is why we want to do it that way. What is the Democratic long-term solution and why should that be considered the best solution? The Democratic vision has to me more than just spending more money and having a counter-proposal to a Republican initiative. This requires a new commitment to finding long-term solutions to America's priorities, rather than quick fixes for short-term gains.

The events of 9/11 have caused many of us to re-evaluate our lives. Leaders tell the American people to continue as normal, and that doing otherwise would allow terror to win. Yet clearly as leaders we must make changes to address the new realities our great country now faces. This requires a new commitment to finding long-term solutions to America's priorities, rather than quick fixes for short-term gains.

The Idea: Refocus the Democratic Party to overcome past distractions and focus on the new realities facing America. This would seem to involve addressing the priorities of the majority (middle) with a left-of-center slant that builds on core Democratic values.

Of course, for all of this to work, the Democratic Party would need to truly be committed to long-term solutions, and not just getting re-elected. And a focus on the people, not the party.