Our political Quote of the Day comes from Democratic strategist Paul Begala:
The inimitable Mark Shields says there are two kinds of political parties: those that seek out converts and those that hunt down heretics. Barack Obama – like Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton before him – is a classic seeker of converts. He chose as his running mate one of his defeated rivals for the presidency. He reached out to Hillary Clinton, giving her one of the most important jobs in the world. Even as he pursues progressive policies, he continues to reach out to Republicans, independents and moderates.
Dick Cheney is a heretic hunter. On Face the Nation he essentially declared that Gen. Colin Powell is no longer a Republican. Granted, Powell committed a serious act of apostasy: he endorsed Barack Obama for President. But Joe Lieberman not only endorsed John McCain, he was a constant presence on the campaign trail, a featured speaker at the Republican convention and someone who was willing to stick a knife in Barack Obama. But after the election, Barack Obama and Harry Reid welcomed him back to the Democratic caucus….
….This is a wonderful gift for the Democrats. At precisely the time when they need to nurture new leaders, Dick Cheney and Rush Limbaugh are sucking up all the oxygen – and, believe me, these two really do suck.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.