Me Think Mark Penn Have Good Idea

By John Aloysius Farrell

At Politico this morning, the much-abused Mr. Penn has a long column about Democrats trying too hard to offer presidential candidates with manufactured personalities that say  ”strong.”

Given the way the issues are lining up for Democrats, Penn says, the party would be better to hammer the Republicans on a clear, defined set of issues, so that the decision for the voters is “who is right and who is wrong,” not who conveys the phony impression of strength.

He meanders a bit before, toward the end, he gets to the essence of his argument:

So here is a radical suggestion: Rather than sparring on the Republican playing field to determine the rougher and tougher leader, Democrats should introduce more clearly substantive differences. How about this for a message — ending the war in Iraq now, making an Apollo-like investment in alternative energy and starting a revolution in health care to cover every American. I suggest making clear that this election is not about who is strong or weak, but about who is right or wrong. Maybe the key will be to emphasize that there will be real policy differences between a Democrat and a Republican in the White House next year and that those differences will — as they did in the past eight years — make all of the difference in the world to the country and the lives of its people.

Makes sense.

Probably too deep for Fox and MSNBC, though.