RUSSERT RIPPED DEAN'S HEART OUT & OTHER THOUGHTS: Most people reading this blog of late might guess I'm a Republican. But close readers will remember: In every presidential election I've voted in, I've cast my vote for the Dem. Nonetheless, I'm part of what I can only suspect is a growing bloc of Disenfranchised Democrats, folks who will be crossing the aisle in '04.

Why have I been I a Dem for so long? Here are my largely unsophisticated reasons:

- The Dems struck me as a party of inclusion, a party that made room for minorities of all colors, orientations, and economic strata
- The Dem candidates just plain seemed smarter to me
- The Republicans always seemed centered around money, whereas the Dems seemed centered around social issues; when I was younger, I believed social equity was government's business
- The Republicans were always on about defense, about bombs and missiles; since I perceived no real threat in the world, I just thought they wanted to pad the pockets of their defense industry benefactors

What's changed?

- I've seen a Republican president who has appointed minorities to the highest offices and who relies on their counsel to make his biggest decisions
- I no longer care who's smarter, only who's more principled and more effective
- I realized that putting your money where your mouth is is the key; Clinton talked about money for AIDS, whereas Bush has delivered (that said, I've also discovered that both sides are all about money, that the Republicans are just as reckless with the dollar as the Dems, and that equity of opportunity is the only thing government can ever hope to deliver)
- I've learned there are real threats to our country, and I've discovered a deep admiration for our military and for the politicians who've fought to keep them strong

This is a brief accounting of my pending conversion, to be sure, but I think you get the point.

Still, there were little moments where I felt I might be reverting to my old form. I watched Hillary on Letterman and found her oddly appealing. I'd see Howard Dean in spots and feel a bit goosebumpy. The Dean thing, though, came to a screeching halt this morning. Tim Russert basically pulled off his wings, his arms, and his legs, and left him squirming around on his back in the sun. Dean may as well have cried "uncle" or at least waved a hanky, so complete was the evisceration.

Right now, the main reason I suspect I'll be voting Republican in the next election is oddly similar to the reason I voted Dem in all those other elections: I look at the guy the "other" party is putting up there, and I say, "C'mon...get serious!"

And I mean...c'mon! All you Dems that crawl past this blog, feel free to clue me in: Who's your boy gonna be this time around? Aren't you a little scared? Sad? This '04 go-round looks like Lennox Lewis Bush against Patsy the Midget Clown to me. I'm sitting here waiting to see anyone from the Dem side who looks electable and has a platform that even remotely speaks to me. How long will I be sitting here?