Two Armies looking for Generals

Here's a thought experiment:  Suppose Sam Nunn or Lee Hamilton or any Serious Democrat (i.e., not a Harry Reid) was Senate Majority Leader.  Furthermore, suppose the Democrats had a serious, respected Speaker of the House (i.e., not Nancy Pelosi).  Who would the Democratic nominee for President be?  My guess is that it would be someone with a lot more gravitas than Barack Obama.

Some of the intensity of the support for Obama has to be based on the fact that the Democratic Party is, at its upper levels, extremely weak.  Simply put, there is no Democratic Senator who is both nationally known and universally respected.  That's also true, of course, for the House.

There's a lot of worry about how the Republican Party has been irreparably damaged due to their big government spending, Bush's inconsistent policies, Iraq, etc...  But at the end of the day, the Republicans have some great people coming up.  Some of them, such as Sarah Palin, Eric Cantor, and Tim Pawlenty, are prospective VP candidates.  And McCain himself has gravitas that nobody on the other side of the aisle can approach.

Promoting and publicizing the best of the Republicans will do wonders to improve the image of the Republican Party and will help show the Democrats, especially their new leader Obama, as shallow grandstanders.