perfidy

James Carville is as slimy and repulsive a character as we've had to endure lurking around the orifices of our body politic in a long time. He's slimier than Karl Rove, and has a stupendously grating manner of speaking. Nevertheless, he is an acknowledged expert on Democratic politics. Over the last few years, since his patron was unceremoniously removed from power by the 22nd amendment, Carville has been increasingly, well, forceful in his advice to his fellow democrats.

Witness:

The problem with Democrat campaign speeches is "litany," and they need more narrative like Winnie the Pooh stories, political consultant and pundit James Carville said. ...Democratic candidates can’t succeed by shouting out to every group in a crowd. Instead candidates should tell stories with the three elements of any good story — setup, conflict and resolution.

"No Kumbayah crap," Carville said.

... In addition to breaking away from a laundry list of special interests, Carville said, Democrats need to learn that a candidate who can’t campaign can't succeed. "If you’re not competent in campaigns, you don’t have a chance to be competent in government," he said. Using Al Gore as an example, Carville said being a smart candidate is not enough.

...Democrats need to bring their causes together and work for them actively, he said. For example, the political consultant suggested taking the specific issue of racial affirmative action and helping those of all races with income-based affirmative action. If Democrats try to single out every issue, they’re back to litany, Carville said. He also said Democrats just can't say "no" to causes from gay rights to abortion to the poor.

"Sometimes the problem with being a Democrat is being a Democrat," he said.

That's not bad advice, and I hope that someone is listening.