Ready to Rumble?

Now this is a debate worth having.

The Democrats, who have been long on outrage over Bush's national security policies, are putting forth an alternative.

My question is, how much coverage will this get compared to, say, speculation about further shake-ups in the White House?

The Dems have been delaying putting forth any sort of Contract with America because, well, why interfere with your opponents when they're in the process of melting down? But ultimately, when people go to the polls this fall, aren't they going to ask what the party stands for other than opposition to President Bush?

The Democratic policy papers, which were leaked to the New York Times yesterday, apparently don't contain much that's new. Target Osama. Increase financing for Special Ops. Spend more on economic development in places like the Middle East. Better screening at ports and nuclear plants. Better training of emergency health workers. More body armor for our troops. John Kerry talked about much of this in 2004.

But so what? How many voters know what the party would do on national security? Let the Democrats (who are using Wes Clark and Madeleine Albright for the rollout) push their plan, let the Republicans shoot at it. That's what elections are supposed to be about.

Sure, all this will be overshadowed by what to do about Iraq, and to a lesser extent the battle over the warrantless eavesdropping program. And, yes, we're talking 435 separate elections here, plus Senate and governor's races, and all the pundit talk about 'nationalizing' the campaign may not work because so many people like their incumbent congressmen.

But it's still an argument worth having.

If the GOP even wants to play. Hotline has this telling observation: "In '02, with President Bush still basking in a post-9/11 job-approval glow and the administration prepping the case for war in Iraq, Dems decided to focus on issues that weren't security-related. They assumed they could make the midterms about the economy or corporate corruption etc.

"But even with the domestic issues polling well, there was an elephant in the room (pardon bad pun) that consumed the electorate's attention: 9/11 and Iraq. Four years later, the GOPers are on the verge of copying parts of that '02 playbook. . . . See if you can find a GOP ad for '06 that talks about Iraq. The focus instead is on health care, transportation, education or, frankly, any issue that isn't at the top of voters' concerns."

Here's the Democrats' day:

"Congressional Democrats presented a national security plan yesterday that they hope will erase their most significant political vulnerability in a pivotal wartime election year -- the belief that they are too weak to defend the country," says the Philadelphia Inquirer.