As someone who once received the highest Civics exam score in the State of Florida, it?s always fun to watch a mainline political party set itself up for a devastating political defeat. The Democrats seem to be living in some sort of weird Jimmy Carterland bubble that exists only in the context of a 1970?s alternative reality. In that reality, Carter has saved the world by joining it. It was Jimmy who managed to defeat the Soviets by building more habitat for humanity homes and making sure that we didn?t insult or antagonize the Communists by building a bigger, better and stronger military. In Carterland, Democrats lose elections because of personal issues blown way out of proportion by Conservatives and polling places designed to accommodate rich white people.

Up to now, the Democratic alternative reality bubble has been well maintained by wealthy contributors who subscribe to the same philosophy. However, the bubble is not as strong as it once was. No matter how much money they manage to raise, any political party that wants to survive in a meaningful way has to come up with the goods. After losing election after election, that doesn?t seem to be happening for the Democrats. The recent failure of Air America to attract a significant listener following for their left view of America and the folding of the George Soros funded project, America Coming Together, should send a strong message that Carterland is a philosophical kingdom not long for this world.

Let?s take a brief vacation from Carterland to look at another equally unrealistic and sadly out of touch place called WashingtonDCville. If Carterland is a rapidly disintegrating hideout for anyone who still wants to burn their draft card or fight the vast Right Wing Conspiracy, then WashingtonDCville is a place where citizens take the most generally unacceptable politicians they can find and run them for President. Unlike Carterland, WashingtonDCville is not driven by any particular political philosophy. Instead, it?s a place based on hype, stupidity and naiveté.

Leaders come and go in Carterland based on who threw the most eggs at American Troops returning from Vietnam or, for the younger set, how many ways you can find to call President Bush a moron without actually being Paul Begala. In WashingtonDCville, popularity is all about buzz, political tenure or misreading the polls. That kind of thinking has produced a distinguished list of past Presidential wannabes including Bob Dole, Ralph Nader, H. Ross Perot, Jesse Jackson and John Kerry. Without skipping a beat, WashingtonDCville is quickly positioning a new and equally hopeless candidate to take on the challenge of the 2008 Presidential Election.

Hillary Clinton has managed to get the wide and wacky world of WashingtonDCville all excited about her obvious ability to win the next Presidential Election. To Hillary supporters, it?s a given! Why? Just surviving a marriage to the most philandering President since JFK should get you some positive political payback. I think that ending up as a New York State Senator covers that debt. However, it?s the survivor theme that has propelled Senator Clinton to where she is in WashingtonDCville.

Beyond staying married to a womanizing political hack, Hillary is portrayed as a strong woman because she feels confident enough to speak her mind on issues she cares about. The problem with that is the problem with most Democrats. Her views seem to change to fit the occasion. She managed to embrace woman?s rights without any concern for the rights of the women that Billy Boy is accused of fondling or worse. Despite verbalizing some of the farthest of left wing positions over the past ten years, Hillary wants us to believe she is a born-again moderate in the alleged mold of her husband. What happens when the campaigning starts and the gloves are taken off?

I have no doubt that the mainstream media believes that they can propel Hillary to the White House. They had the same belief about John Kerry. That?s because they are all Charter Members of Carterland. Well, it should be a wake up call to the Democrats that people who philosophically live in Carterland are as useless to them as a Presidential Candidate who comes from WashingtonDCville. Americans are not liberal New Yorkers. They will not be willing to turn back the political clock, gamble possible Supreme Court Judge Nominees and place their personal safety in the hands of a Presidential Candidate whose buzz is limited to speaking her mind and surviving a cheating hubby. If that kind of buzz could get you elected President, then half of the women in America should run.

The Winner of the next Presidential Election is not going to come from WashingtonDCville or be chosen and supported by citizens from Carterland. Those are facts that all political parties should immediately take note of. If they want to choose a Winner, then he or she has to be someone that is not going to talk about what a terrific job they?ll do. It?s going to have to be a person with a proven record of political and economic success. It is also going to be have to be a person who will not necessary find favor in the eyes and mouths of the current crop of political pundits.

For the Democrats, the biggest strike they will have against them in the next national election will be the same people who hurt them the last time around. If any person or group of people helped lose the White House for the Democrats in 2004, it was John Kerry, John Edwards and all the liberal strategists, politicians and commentators. People like Ted Kennedy, Paul Begala and James Carville are publicity poison for the party of the common people. That?s because the common people, apparently, did not and do not like or believe what they have to say.

People are starting to think for themselves. Voters are out there in big numbers when they perceive a threat to their own philosophical destiny. Any Political Party that is trying to shove a platform full of unpopular planks down their throats will find themselves relegated to dust of history. A few crusty college professors and far out of sync liberal politicians are not going to save the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton is not a political horse I would bet on if I were desperate to win a race.

In reality, I cannot imagine that Hillary would run for President until she finally establishes a political identity that would stand up to the scrutiny of a National Election. If that happens, her best hope for winning the election is that people will turn against the Republicans in record numbers and accept her as a new kind of Democrat. However unlikely those things are to occur, one more thing would still have to happen for her to win as a Democrat. She would have to place tape over the mouths of the usual suspects in the extreme liberal wing of her Party before they lose whatever slight chance she might have to win.