And that, of course, is the problem with the Bush-Cheney campaign's decision yesterday to contrast Mr. Cheney's forty grim years in Washington with John Edwards' sunny six: America is a hopeful, optimistic place, and Dick Cheney is a profoundly (and unmistakably) pessimistic man.

Once again, the Bushies' mouths are way out in front of their brains on this one. (Can you say "Mission Accomplished?" I knew that you could.) Before this thing is over, they'll be very sorry they ever asked the American people to seriously ponder the idea of a Cheney presidency.

POSTSCRIPT: As we saw over and over during the Clinton years, the modern Republican party can be counted on to bring a sledge hammer to a turkey carving every time, and this is yet another example of that phenomenon. There's just no subtlety to their game; politics is all about blunt force trauma with them. And while that approach has worked (to some extent, anyway) at the congressional level, it's been nothing but bad news for their presidential candidates.

You know, you'd think that losing the popular vote three times in a row would have taught them something. But I guess you'd be wrong.

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