CARVILLE'S PROGNOSIS: James Carville starts out making sense. The Democratic Party "has a disease" that must be treated soon if the party is to have a chance of gaining back the White House or the Congress. Then he and his buddy Paul Begala descend to sheer jibberish when they say the Dems need to take command of a master narrative, just as they believe the Republicans have done. how the Dems must imitate Bush's success. Says Carville:

"See, Bush says, 'I was a shiftless drunk, I was transformed by the power of Jesus Christ, I was further transformed by 9/11 and I will protect you from the terrorists in Tehran and the homos in Hollywood.' And he sticks with it!"

If Cajun James really believes that's the essence of Bush's master story, he should go the rest of the way and say he believes the American public are morons. That's got to be what's on his mind when he says

"We [Democrats] should wrap ourselves in the flag just like Republicans have done so successfully post-9/11 and even back to 1994 when House Republicans developed their 'Contract with America.'"

Carville can't acknowledge — maybe he doesn't remember — the groundswell of patriotism in America after 911. Apart from Carville's obvious cynicism, the problem with his flag-wrapping strategy is that there is no longer a consensus for national defense and national security within the Democratic Party's leadership — which is why Hillary Clinton was so roundly booed when she spoke publicly in the immediate aftermath of September 11. The only time most Kerry Democrats get excited about the American flag is when it's being burned and they rush to defend that act as "constitutionally protected speech." What Americans don't hear anymore are credible statements from Democrats about loving their country. The statements aren't heard because they aren't being made.