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It occurs to me that no matter what happens in the elections, the president will need the help of rightward-leaning Democrats if he hopes to effectively govern. That's why, taking a page from Reagan, he should have picked two or three such Dems at least to be wooing instead of bashing. That's why it's a shame that he not only campaigned against Georgia incumbent Jim Marshall, but equated a vote for Marshall as a vote against a strong defense. Unlike the commercial against Max Cleland several years ago, which actually involved a legitimate issue (Cleland put union interests first on a homeland security bill), the crack against Marshall was unfortunate, because Marshall has been one of the president's most stalwart supporters on the war in Iraq, traveling there numerous times and standing up against his caucus in support of Bush's overall policy there. Of course the GOP should try hard to win that seat, but not to the extent of sending in the president to campaign in person against him. The fact is that Marshall is very solidly pro-defense, pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and is moderate on other stuff like economics. And he's a good, honest man. He's the type the White House should be wooing, either for a party switch or at least for legislative alliances. After he wins (he remains the clear betting favorite), here's hoping the White House reaches out to him immediately post-election and tries to mend fences and make a friend of him.

topics:
Economics, Iraq