Kumbaya Caucus

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One of the most interesting contrasts between last year's State of the Union address and this year's has nothing to do with President Bush. It involves the transformed tone of the Democratic response, from partisan lion to post-partisan lamb.

And this, in turn, reflects a schism in Democratic thinking -- to what extent to be the party of fighters and to what extent the party of Kumbaya -- that is being played out most prominently in the presidential race.

Last year's Democratic response came from Jim Webb, the newly elected, perennially pugnacious senator from Virginia. A former Reagan administration official turned populist, antiwar Democrat, Webb's most recent book, about the Scottish-Irish influence on America, was "Born Fighting." His speech lived up to type.

Webb invoked the memory of Teddy Roosevelt taking on the robber barons and Dwight Eisenhower ending the Korean War: "These presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world. Tonight we are calling on this president to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way."

Flash forward to Monday night. For a brash male senator speaking from Washington, substitute a soothing female governor, Kansan Kathleen Sebelius, speaking from the heartland. Both Webb and Sebelius were new faces, from purple (Virginia) and red (Kansas) states, but their messages could not have been more different.

Seated in front of a flickering fire, with a colorful spray of flowers beside her, Sebelius was assertively post-partisan -- so much so that some Democratic lawmakers grumbled afterward that there was not enough mention of their accomplishments.

"I'm a Democrat, but tonight, it really doesn't matter whether you think of yourself as a Democrat or a Republican or an independent. Or none of the above," Sebelius began. "In this time, normally reserved for the partisan response, I hope to offer you something more -- an American response." Instead of Webb's bellicose challenge to lead or step aside, Sebelius's message was more accommodating: "Join us, Mr. President." Americans, she said, "aren't afraid to face difficult choices. But we have no more patience for divisive politics."

This new messenger and overhauled tone is no accident. It reflects the mounting anxiety among congressional Democrats that the change in congressional leadership has not produced enough of the promised results in the public mind. "It's clear we can't fight them to a win," said one Democratic strategist close to the congressional leadership. "If you can't wrestle them to the ground, you try another approach."

However much Democratic lawmakers believe the fault rests with Republican obstructionism, however much the Democratic base may crave Webbian confrontation, the thinking goes, the wider audience -- to wit, swing voters in swing states that Democrats need to retain and expand their majority -- has no tolerance for they-did-it-first finger-pointing.

"Reality has set in," says Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster who advises House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "The Democrats have learned if you don't get anything done, they don't blame the Republicans, they blame both of you."

The mixed messages of 2006 and 2007 reflect the inner conflicts of the voters Democrats are trying to attract. "One, they want a party that stands on its principles, and two, they've got a pox-on-all-your-houses attitude," said one congressional Democrat. "While they blame Republicans more than Democrats, when you peel back the numbers there's a general concern about what's going on in the current state of politics. So you're trying to thread that needle."

That needle-threading does not sit well with some die-hard partisans. "Bring back Jim Webb!" read a headline on the MotherJones.com blog. Wrote Todd Beeton on MyDD.com, "She's asking Bush 'to join us?' Is she kidding?"