Our enlightened democracy . . .

Our leaders on both sides have apparently concluded that the American electorate is a herd of unintelligent, unthinking dimwits. A recent column by political writer Bill Shipp reported that Georgia Republicans plan in the coming legislative campaign to highlight laws against flag burning and gays to win voters--not taxes, not education, not the overwhelmed infrastructure of Atlanta, not pollution and water quality, not health or crime or poverty or technology. Democrats are little better. In the recent presidential election, the primary Democratic party strategy was to make fun of George Bush and to offer photographs of their candidate windsurfing or hunting--rather than emphasizing positions of substance that could counter low-brow Republican pandering. Democrats allowed Republicans to run the campaign on personality attacks and marginal issues that diverted attention from issues that mattered. The Republicans at least showed creative thought in their strategies. Democrats sat around in confusion.