A bit of meta for a Tuesday morning.

I’ve had my fill of politics the last few days. The Fourth of July these last few years has struck me like the punch line to a bad joke, and never more than this year. The Obama centrist tactical shift, the Rove takeover of McCain’s campaign (big surprise there), the constant drumbeat of inanity, lies and fear mongering from Bush (and his little dog Lieberman), and, of course, the cowardice of the establishment Democrats in Congress have been to much for me to stomach lately. And my personal life has been full of enough excitement and turmoil to take the time to worry about the larger world, even though it surely effects me as it does you.

What has struck me, as I’ve talked to people — neighbors, friends, relatives — is the constant sense of anxiety and uncertainty that permeates their lives. It’s not just that gas prices have hit an all time high. Everyone I talk too has a story lately, one which demonstrates the perilous straits most of us find ourselves in. A neighbor is losing his insurance business and his home, and can’t find a job, even a lower paying one because of his age (mid 50’s). Other neighbors eliminate their traditional extended July 4th holiday to their cottage on one of New York’s lakes because of gas prices. A mother of one of my daughter’s teammates can’t sell their home after nearly a year on the market, even though we don’t live in one of the regions where home prices have gone through the roof. Job cuts and the fear of job cuts is a topic of conversation like never before. And everyone hates Bush, Republicans, Democrats and Independents, but the whisper/email campaign against Obama is working.

Lots of the suburban white people I know parrot back to me the very themes the Clinton campaign first used to attack Obama’s candidacy: that he’s inexperienced, or weak on defense, or just not as qualified as McCain. The Muslim slur has made a big impact, and underneath you can sense the the fear of a black man, no matter how erudite or well spoken or calm (i.e., not a Jesse or Al) being elected our president. McCain, the man who married into money to fund his political career is not liked by many Republicans, but they fear Obama more. They know the Bush policies have killed our economy (they even admit as much to me), but somehow they continue to buy into the lie that Obama will raise their taxes and make things worse. They want to see Unions strengthened and an end to NAFTA style “free trade” agreements (jobs being shifted overseas by multinational corporations resonates strongly with them) but they can’t yet see (or refuse to make) the connection between the policies of the Republicans and the fostering of such agreements. And who can blame them after so many years in which a significant faction of Democrats have supported these very same policies.

They agree with me that we need better environmental protections, a way to get out from under our dependence on oil, mass transit, better schools, and protection of our civil liberties. Yet we have a candidate for President (and many for Congress too) afraid to strongly make this populist appeal which I believe might reach them. They’ll continue to vote Republican out of fear: fear of Democrats and liberals (thanks mainstream media), fear of this phony Islamofascist Menace from Iran or Al Qaeda or Muslims in general (I can’t tell you how many are convinced Iran is a serious threat which is ready to attack Israel at the drop of a hat), or simply fear of a black man as President. I sense they are ready to abandon the GOP but no one on the left (and I call us the “left” only in the sense that we are “left” of the current radical extremism on the right) is making a strong enough case for real change — universal health care not beholden to Big Pharma and the health insurance industry, fair trade agreements not ” free trade” giveaways to corporations, a return to strengthening the position of Labor (including protections for unions), fair taxation (no more corporate welfare and tax benefits for the rich), an end to expensive, ineffective imperial wars, and real protection of our civil rights, including our right to privacy.

And lets be honest. That case can only be made by the leader of the party, the candidate for President. No one believes in Congress anymore, and why should they? Congress has abdicated so much of its power that people simply don’t believe their congressional members can do anything but bring a few pork barrel projects back home, if that. After eight years of Bush, everyone I talk to believes (and with good reason) that only the their choice for President really matters. So the man on the spot, the man who must make this populist appeal is Obama. He must give these people, who are ready for change, but don’t want to hear empty slogans, a reason to believe. Otherwise they’ll just keep turning into Fox News and Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly for their news. Why? Because those jokers are tapping into their anger and giving them a target for it. A misdirected target to be sure, but a target nonetheless. And the more our presumptive nominee is painted as moving to the “center” the more they will turn away from him. Because he won’t look that much different in their eyes than John Sidney McCain. It won’t matter if it’s true, it will only matter that they perceive it to be true.

Because as long as they see Democrats as nothing more than timid, water3ed down copy cats of republican positions on domestic and foreign policy, as long as they see them as unwilling to stand up for their principles (something they do see republicans doing) they will continue to remain the core of a future republican resurgence. Unless the Democrats are willing to speak and act boldly in favor of measures and policies that will attract these folks, that will make a real difference in their lives, they’ll continue to stay with what they “know” from listening to, and learning from, from the right wing media machine. This is why whenever Democrats back down from fights, like the recent attacks against Wes Clark for simply telling the truth about John McCain, or on FISA, or funding for the war, or special ops in Iran, they lose.

The Democrats may win this election battle this year. However, if they want to bring about a lasting change to the political scene, one in which a true generational realignment occurs, it’s time for them to stop pretending to be Republican Lite. It’s time for them to stop their bullshit moves to the center. Because for the first time in a generation or two, the electorate is fully up for grabs, and playing it safe will not bring about what Booman and others are dreaming about — a return to the dominance of the liberal wing of the Democratic party such as FDR ushered in in 1932. Instead they will be setting themselves up for a conservative return to power sooner than any of them imagine.

So that’s my uniformed rant for the day after staying off the blogs for a bit and listening to the people I see face to face on a regular and semi-regular basis. What’s your take? I’m curious, because, I don’t claim any special knowledge or insight, but I do know that if we want real political realignment in this country, one in which liberals and progressives win back that white male vote (and lots of white female votes, too) that the Republican spin machine has managed to tear away from the old Democratic coalition, we need to present a real difference between what corporate Republicans are offering them and what Democrats are offering. Milquetoast campaigning and slogans won’t do the trick.