Why hast thou forsaken me. . .

. . .Calliope? That seems to be the question among the Hollywood set, as they've come to the conclusion that the only thing that kept John Kerry out of the Oval Office was his lack of a compelling story to sell to the voters. Alas, The benevolent muse has left them bereft of a tale to tell. No mythic heroism. No stirring epics. Just the story of a supposed war hero with presumably authentic medals for being reportedly wounded in an ostensibly fierce firefight.

They must be thinking, "Gimme something to work with here, would ya?"

In any case, Michael does eventually reveal the very basic principles of today's Democratic Party when he has this to say:

"He said while he likes and respects former Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, the senator did not give a clear enough message, did not tell a compelling enough story - nor did he exude the charisma of 'rock star' former Democratic President Bill Clinton."

Is there not a soul in the DNC who is alarmed at the notion that their beliefs are so far out of the mainstream that they need someone with rockstar charisma to sell them? Isn't there someone around that sparkling new building that Terry McAuliffe spent such an obscene amount of money on who is willing to tell the Michael Moores of the party to, "just shut the hell up and let me think!"?

Until Michael Moore ceases to be the most powerful voice among the DNC's varied constituencies, there will be no victories for them. They'll hold on to their enclaves -- like Marin County, but their shrinking pockets of support in the industrial midwest will slowly begin to fade from the map as the GOP makes inroads into its working class base.

You see, Mike, those working stiffs are disgusted by what comes out of Hollywood, by and large. So, you and your pals really need to fade from the picture if you're really interested in doing the DNC any favors. Either that, or come out strong for Nader next time around. That way, people might be fooled into believing there's actually a difference between the Greens and the Democrats. And, there's the added bonus of appearing to be a person with principles.

And by the way, Mike. . .black is slimming, but it's not that slimming. You might try pinstripes.