How to convince people to vote Democratic in the absence of a candidate is worth thinking about and now is the time to do it. Its an area where the Republicans have an edge. They have a core set of positions they always push (tax cuts, strong military, "heartland values"). Whenever an election comes along, they just slap a face onto their positions. We start with the face and try to construct a philosophy from there. Its a bit like Porsche versus GM. With a Porsche you know you're getting a sports car. We wait to see if we've got a pick-up truck or a sedan before we start figuring out how to sell it. This time we thought we had a pretty macho SUV but apparently it was just an old van. Their strategy has clearly been more effective and goes a long way to explaining the message deficit. So, what are the positions we can push in the absence of a candidate? I like social and economic justice, tolerance, environmental protection, and teamwork in the war on terror.