The Moose wonders whether NPR commentator Daniel Schorr is a secret member of PNAC.
A few days ago, the Moose suggested that progressives should embrace the advance of the spread of democracy in the Middle East even if President Bush gets the credit. Now, support for that view comes from a very surprising source, noted lefty journalist Daniel Schorr. In this must read piece, Schorr opines,
"Something remarkable is happening in the Middle East - a grass-roots movement against autocracy without any significant "Great Satan" anti-American component...
"The movements for democratic change in Egypt and Lebanon have happened since the successful Iraqi election on Jan. 30. And one can speculate on whether Iraq has served as a beacon for democratic change in the Middle East.
"During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, President Bush said that "a liberated Iraq can show the power of freedom to transform that vital region."
"He may have had it right."
While it far too premature for popping the champagne corks, there are clearly positive developments in the Middle East. However, as Ralph Peters indicates in the New York Post, there is no justification for cockiness,
"Excessive euphoria would only play into the hands of those who wanted freedom's campaign to fail all along. If our rhetoric becomes too exuberant, even positive events on the ground could be dismissed as falling short of our promises.
"This isn't a time to gloat. Instead, we need to work harder than ever, to keep pushing, to exploit the current momentum.
"We should be encouraged our enemies are certainly discouraged but more American soldiers and civilians are going to be killed in the days ahead. The Middle East's degenerate regimes will not all go down without a fight. Nor will the many terrorists they spawned."
The Moose argues that Democrats should both champion democracy's progress and pressure the Bush Administration from the right for more resources to win the war against terror. Democrats should point out that we will need more money both for hard power to expand the military and for soft power to spread the democratic message. That means reversing the Administration's fiscal follies of providing more for the wealthy.
Democrats should be among those leading the democratic parade, not following or begrudging it. -- | 
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