Just watched Keith Olbermann deliver some pointed jabs to the President that two years ago would have never made it off the editing room floor.
I'm also hearing good things from troops on the ground in NC, CT, and OH. Yeah, I know, choice locales, but anecdotes are sometimes good.
While I'm feeling optimistic about the party's future, I'm also nervous as hell.
Nervous that success, any of it, will kill the enthusiasm and optimism that have characterized the party faithful this cycle. So let's take on oath that we won't let that happen. The oath on the flip.
I
______ do solemnly swear that I will do everything in my power to avoid letting success be the end of the Democratic Party.
I promise to constantly seek out new ideas that will address the real needs of real people, and simultaneously avoid the trappings of "issue specific" politics.
For I believe that a single issue does not a majority make.
I promise to work tirelessly for the day to day tactical advantage of the Democratic in the months and years ahead, just as I have now, and simultaneously to avoid feeling like all battles have been won and I'm no longer needed.
For I believe that a party without me is a party without my power.
I swear by all that's holy and great, that I will never, ever, ever forget that a good Republican would vote for Satan himself before voting Democratic, and as a result I will avoid the temptation, no matter how stark the contrast, of voting for a Republican when the Democratic candidate is less than savory.
For I believe that as FDR once put: "he may be a son of a bitch, but he's OUR son of a bitch."
I promise I will avoid breaking party ranks in the elections to come even though I may vehemently disagree with the party line. Instead, I will work doubly hard to ensure that my voice, my opinion, my views and my arguments are forced into the party's debate regardless of how hard that may be.
For I believe that a party constantly forced to encounter and deal with different views is a party evolving.
I promise I will never forget, never ever ever forget, that the reason for my party's recent successes lies inextricably intertwined with the death and destruction visited on my fellow Americans who have served nobly overseas. I will strongly avoid appearing like someone who doesn't care about their sacrifice, or that doesn't see how such sacrifice has impacted me.
For I believe that a party which honors its warriors with dignity and respect is a party which can and will be trusted with America's security.
And finally, I promise that I will do everything I can in the future to reflect positive attitudes on the Democratic party. I will avoid sniping at leaders in public, but instead will bring my criticism into the party, sharply, pointedly, but privately.
For I believe that a party which is constantly defending itself from its own is a party which is on the wrong track.