Will Democrats make '08 another '92 or another '88?

The 2008 Presidential election brings up an interesting dilemma.

Will the Democratic Party learn from its past mistakes?

The last time there was a Presidential election directly following a two term Republican Presidency was 1988, when VP George Bush took on very liberal Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.

Dukakis got hammered.

Granted, Ronald Reagan had been a very popular President and Americans weren't prepared to jump the ship on Republican ideology just yet. A more fair comparison to what '08 has in store would probably be 1992.

By '92, President Bush's approval ratings had sagged (sound familiar?), and Democrats nominated a centrist Southern Governor named Bill Clinton. The rest is history.

So the question is: Will Democrats make '08 another '92 or another '88?

Will they nominate another, but much more polarizing Clinton?

Will they nominate a certain Senator with his name tied to bipartisanship in the form of the BCRA (McCain-Feingold) , but his record more liberal than any other in the Senate today? As much as the base (myself included) loves Senator Feingold, this Democrat hopes not.

Or will Democrats again pick a centrist, DLC Governor from a southern state?

Compromise within the Democratic Party served America well 13 years ago. It'll serve America well 3 years from now.

In politics it isn't ALL about pleasing the base. Sometimes, its about what's right for the nation as a whole.The Republican Party has lost sight of that fact completely. In an era of growing polarization, when "energizing the base" is all the rage, it seems that Democrats have stumbled as well.

This does nothing but let the other 60% of America down, for the real silent majority are those who don't hold an allegiance to either the right or the left.

The Democratic Party currently has a legitimate claim to the ideological center. They have numerous candidates who don't pander to only the liberal side of the spectrum. Can the Republicans really claim the same on their end?

They couldn't in '92 and they still can't today.