So Evan Bayh is out of the presidential race, barely two weeks after he officially almost got in it, to no one's great surprise. And he's getting a lot of credit for recognizing reality and dealing with it honestly. But before he got out, he offered fellow Democrats a reality check they'd do well to heed:
Evan Bayh is doling out tough love. When someone asks how he'd cut the federal deficit, Bayh says Democrats should rein in spending before rolling back President Bush's tax cuts: "We need to re-establish our fiscal responsibility." When another audience member asks how he'll persuade Americans to drive less and buy smaller cars to combat global warming, Bayh pushes back. "The key is not to ask for sacrifice for no reason," he says. "You've got to convince them the sacrifice will get the result they have every right to expect."
Republicans themselves have not been exactly fiscally responsible. If Democrats really did "rein in spending before rolling back tax cuts," I suspect even Newt Gingrich would be cheering from the sidelines.
