The problem the Democrat party has is that so much of its base is so unhinged that almost no one with any scruples wants any part of it.
And those with some semblence of ethics have their thinking skewed by a worldview with almost no connection to reality. Jimmy Carter is a perfect example of that.
Clinton simply happened to be president at a time when even a total screwup had nothing to screw up. The economy was ticking along fine, we weren't at war, and the Republican congress kept him from screwing any of that up.
In more normal times, Clinton would have been just another Jimmy Carter.
The point of all this is that Democrat politicians just aren't to be taken seriously anymore. All politicians tend to be hucksters, liars, or anti-functional idealists, but the democrats take that to a whole new level, to a point where they actually do more harm to themselves than their intended marks. They just can't be taken seriously any more.
Very, very well put. Your point about Carter (good heart/not in touch with reality) and Clinton (bad heart/savvy) being the two types of Democrats is a good one. Indicative of this phenomenon is the reality that to get the Democratic nomination, one must be 100% in support of abortion at all stages in all circumstances. I don't think a Democrat who is 90% pro-choice (meaning, say, in favor of all except partial-birth abortions) can get the nomination any more. So who's left as you climb up the ladder of the Democratic Party? Partial-birth abortions weren't a debated issue when Carter was President; if they had been, I bet he would have been opposed to partial birth abortions. My point is this: in 2004, high up on the Democratic tree, there may not even be any good-hearted-but-hopelessly deluded-about-the-world people like Carter any more. From now on, it's the Clinton type, whose charisma -- note: I find him repellant -- disguises his moral rot; and Kerry, who has no such charisma to mask his won considerable rot.