What Should the Democrats Do?

There's been a lot of chatter criticizing the Democrats for being overly cautious. See for example, the seven letters to the editor of the NYT on the subject a few days ago. Much of the criticism comes from Democrats.

There are a couple of "buts" here:

1. By not criticizing Bush, the Democrats are not setting themselves up as targets for the Rove sliming machine. This is a very big "but."

2. Also, they are giving the Republicans a clear field for criticizing other Republicans. Three examples from Page 1 of today's NYTimes:

a. "Republican Speaks Up, Leading Others to Challenge Wiretaps"

b. "Ex-FEMA Leader Faults Response by White House"

c. "Ex-C.I.A. Official Says Iraq Data Was Distorted"

There's a saying: "Never stand between a dog and his fire hydrant (or tree)."

As long as Republican dogs are p-$$--g on Bush, the Democrats are well advised to stand out of the way.