Books To Light Their Fire

Dotty Lynch Suggests Inspirational Reading For Democrats

(CBS)  Dotty Lynch is CBSNews.com's Political Points columnist. E-mail your questions and comments to Political Points.

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Democrats got an attack of the jitters last week. After months of polls showing President Bush's approval rating in the 30s and gas prices hitting $3 a gallon, suddenly - to paraphrase Al Gore - President Bush went up and gas prices went down. And Democrats, who were just about ready to believe in Hope again, headed for the Pepto-Bismol.

There were some happy moments for Democrats, provided by the revelation that Virginia Republican Senator George Allen told his local paper that he still munches on ham sandwiches even though he now knows his mother was Jewish. And Bill Clinton gave one for the team as he accused Chris Wallace of a "conservative hit job" at Fox News and ABC of errors in a 9/11 miniseries Clinton said was run by "a right-wing conservative."

But like Red Sox fans, Democrats have been so beaten down that they fear when the happy days of summer give way to autumn leaves, their hearts will be broken and the team will hit the skids.

For Democrats who need to get their fires rekindled, Sidney Blumenthal's "How Bush Rules," a breathtaking collection of columns he wrote for Salon and The Guardian over the past two and a half years, will do the job.

Blumenthal - a reporter-turned-activist who was a communications advisor to Bill Clinton from 1997-2001 - is relentless in his attacks on the Bush administration, which he calls a "radical regime."

His columns go down Memory Lane from the proclamation of "mission accomplished" in Iraq and the death of Terri Schiavo to the downfall of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Michael "heck of a job, Brownie" Brown, the former FEMA chief.

Blumenthal chronicles the case against Bush with take-no-prisoners force and brings a huge amount of information to make his tough and witty case. He dedicated the book to former Ambassador Joe Wilson, described as a patriot who has "done more for the cause of truth and restoration of integrity than anyone I have known."

For Democrats who dream about governing and are eager to get their party back on track, former Senator Gary Hart has written "The Courage of Our Convictions." His mantra: go back to basics. (Truth in advertising here: I was the pollster for the Hart campaign in 1984 before beginning my 20-year stint with CBS News.)

Hart says he was in shock in 2005, when a Democratic senator told him that the Democratic caucus in the Senate was going to take up the question: What do I stand for?

He is particularly harsh on Democratic leaders who stood by quietly as the Iraq war escalated and turned sour. Hart argues that for Democrats to regain the mantle of leadership in the country, they need to go back to the party's fundamental principles: social justice, international alliance, civic duty, equality and justice.

The former presidential hopeful cites what he says is the best political advice he ever got, from former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, dispensed as Hart arrived at the U.S. Senate in the 1970s: "Draw a line. Fix a point beyond which you will not go, and stick to it."

Democrats may pick up seats this fall because of Republican failures but to really come back, says Hart, the Democrats need principles and the courage to stick to them.

Democrats who are too nervous to read anything as complicated as Blumenthal and Hart might want to turn instead to "Why Mommy is a Democrat."

The book – self-published by Jeremy Zilber, a political science professor in Wisconsin who describes himself as a lifelong Democrat and political activist – features a cover drawing of a mother squirrel explaining the political facts of life to a baby squirrel on her knee.

In cartoon-like simplicity, it presents many of the short and sweet words the Democrats have been pining for. "Democrats make sure we are safe just like Mommy does, Democrats share their toys, Democrats make sure everyone can go to school."

Zilber - who promises to donate a portion of profits from the book to Democratic candidates and party organizations - says his 28-page paperback depicts the core "Democratic principles of fairness, tolerance, peace and the concern for the well-being of others."

Rush Limbaugh and a bunch of right wing blogs, including the Museum of Left Wing Lunacy, have taken off on "Mommy."

But in the next 43 days and nights as lines get blurred and charges are hurled, Zilber's "warm and whimsical" characters could be just what an anxious Democrat might need to get a good night's sleep.

I especially agree with your comments about Senator Hart's book. The advice he offers comes from a lifetime of deep thinking by a brilliant person into the meaning of politics and public service, as well as the Democratic Party's role within that sphere. It's an important read for anyone who takes the process of elections seriously, most particularly the leaders of the Party.