Move over, Messiah, make room for the Prophet Dean

For a party that attracts atheists and non-religious folks, the liberal Democrats sure have a way of deifying their leaders. Barack "The One"/"The Messiah" Obama came first, and now Ari Berman of The Nation writes about Howard "The Prophet" Dean.

Sure, DNC Chairman Dean should get credit for his 50-state strategy to regain power, first in the legislative branch, and then the executive. In 2006 under his leadership Democrats became the majority in both houses of Congress. That momentum helped Obama win the general election by capturing battleground states like Indiana, Virginia, and North Carolina, along with several western states.

However, Berman attributes the Democratic resurgence from "Bush's remarkable mishandling of the country's domestic and foreign policies" simply makes him sound like a liberal talking head. Congress turned blue because of Republican politicians leaving their conservative roots and ignoring their warnings, and the fact that these politicians enjoyed having power for so long brewed corruption. Corruption brought down the Congressional Republicans. Poor economy hurt McCain's White House bid.

Dean isn't a prophet for coming up with a winning strategy. He's just like Karl "The Architect" Rove.

Use and abuse Sen. Lieberman

Poor Sen. Joe Lieberman. Ever since his speech at the RNC, he's probably the most hated Democrat in the world. There are calls to purge him from the party, but then the Democratic caucus needs him to reach the 60-seat supermajority pending senate race results from Alaska, Georgia, and Minnesota. John Nichols writes in The Nation:

If Democrats did somehow get to 60 in the Senate, and if Lieberman then betrayed the party on a critical vote, that would be the point at which to debate expelling him from the caucus.

At this point, the discussion sounds more like venting than smart, or serious, politics.

In other words, use him and abuse him until he's no longer valuable to the Democrats.