Dana, I don't think this is an either/or. It's true that voters are "looking for a president who can protect them from 'the terrorists' -- and end the Iraq war, and create jobs, and restore respect for America on the world stage." But that doesn't mean that voters -- particularly primary voters -- aren't "looking for a president who can protect them from the Right." Democratic voters believe that in order to end the Iraq War, in order to create jobs, in order to change our foreign policy, in order to achieve universal health care, that they need a Democrat who can take on, and beat, the Right Wing. And the Democratic candidates know this. That's why Clinton makes such a big deal out of her years of experience battling the Republicans. The capacity to take on the noise machine and win is critical to every other element of our agenda. Given the historic number of filibusters and the record of non-cooperation seen on the Right, the ability to beat them is a threshhold issue for Democratic voters. Without the confidence that their candidates can stand against the Republicans, they can't trust that they'll achieve their agenda. --Ezra Klein
