William Rivers Pitt: The leadership of the Democratic Party must bear the full burden of responsibility for this calamity. The incredible Democratic defeats that came during this midterm election did not happen because America is a conservative Republican nation. These defeats came because, in the absence of real leadership, the people will look to any fool who steps to a microphone. In the absence of real leadership, those wise enough to ignore fools will also eschew the polls. The policy of appeasement proffered by the Democratic leadership - go along with tax cuts, go along with the PATRIOT Act, go along with the Iraq war resolution, virtual silence regarding corporate criminality - stripped the leadership and the party of any ability to argue in favor of a Democratic vote. Link: There Have Been Worse Days (t r u t h o u t)