OK, so the GOP has basically shot itself in the foot the past year: Katrina, Abramhoff, Plame (I know it's more than a year old, but work with me here), Iraq, etc. We know many Dems in power don't have the sack to use the ammo they've been given. So, we need to look to the candidates running as Dems in Republican districts to raise the rhetorical heat. After all, they have the most to gain and the least to lose.
Obviously, the prime example is Paul Hackett. It's my belief that much of his surge came from his mouth - his blunt speaking called out not just his opponent, but the administration and, in essence, anyone who tacitaly enabled or agreed with the failed policies of the administration and the personal attacks against him. In Cincinnati, where there's a lot of very conservative people, a lot of Republican voters switched sides. The only reason I can think of as to why is they were, for the first time in a long time, offered a candidate who used stark language that was honest and real.
Now, we have to find more candidates like Hackett. For starters, there's another vet, who fought in Gulf War I, the prequel, in CO-5, Jay Fawcett. I don't know if he is going to use the same blunt approach Hackett did, but the few news bits on his announcement speech seem to indicate that he just might: "I watch what goes on in our country and I'm appalled at the lack of thinking." Story here: http://WWW.demnotes.COM/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/206
It's a good start. So, what other Dem candidates are out there that we can look to to stoke the rhetorical fires, go on the offensive, and fire up not just the base, but all voters who are sick of being lied to?