Less than a year ago, I was hoping (and actually believing) that the big issue for the 2006 elections would be corruption. I don't think that's the case any longer (although it is a primary issue in New Mexico for isolated reasons). Democrats weren't able to distinguish themselves well enough on corruption. Even though the economy is slowing, the big issue looks like it's going to be foreign policy, again.

This Slate article outlines the best Democratic attack I've seen in years, especially considering that it flips national security from a weakness into a strength. Here's the (deceptively simple) idea: hammer Bush and the Republicans for fostering the growth of terrorist movements by radicalizing the Middle East. Individual politicians have made this point, but to be effective it needs to be thrown at voters with millions of dollars of paid advertising. It can even be done with a nature theme: I envision a mock sequel to the infamous wolf commercials of 2004. A commercial begins with embers in a dry forest, smoldering, and while an announcer talks about how Bush is radicalizing the Middle East and increasing the attractiveness of terrorism, a wind comes along, causing a fire to erupt. The wind continues blowing, fanning the flames until there's a full-fledged inferno.

Of course, the author says the Democrats will probably miss the opportunity to go on the attack, so I guess there's little chance of my commercial becoming reality.