The Republicans had their Contract with (or was it "on"?) America.
The Democrats need their own manifesto.
Winning back the Congress would be beyond wonderful, but there are some serious risks. For one thing, you have to suddenly shift gears from being the opposition party to the party that's actually driving policy. This is a major shift in perspective, and not an easy one. The biggie, of course, is Iraq. Dems didn't break the egg, but we're going to have to get serious about how to put it back together again.
But I'm actually more concerned with attitude than specific policies...
Beyond policy issues, I worry that we risk being overtaken by a "holier than thou" attitude vis-a-vis our Republican friends. Criticizing their culture of corruption is only one step away from saying "we're morally superior," and (as we've seen across the aisle) that can be a dangerous posture.
Right now, it's pretty clear that, on average, we are morally superior, and we can pat ourselves on the back for that. But let's not get too comfortable with our halos. Human nature being what it is, it's probably only a matter of time before some Democrats get caught using their new-found power for nefarious purposes. After all, you can't abuse power when you don't have any! And when you do have it, the temptation to abuse it is ever-present.
So I think the message we need to put out is not "we're morally superior," but "we intend to hold ourselves (and our opponents) to the highest ethical standards, and will aggressively act to root out any instances of corruption that we find."
AND THEN WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY DO IT. Nothing would increase our credibility more than prosecuting a corrupt Democrat or two. Maybe then we could begin to break down the public's cynical belief that politicians are all equally bad. This could lead to a resurgence of belief in government as a force for good, and help grease the skids for the policy changes we need.
This means absolutely no cover-ups, no excuses, no defending the indefensible. Unlike the Republicans, we'll have to have credible, independent investigations of alleged wrongdoing.
In other words, we'll have to walk the walk. Only then will we earn the right to talk the talk.
Are you listening, Nancy?