Well. I think this is oversimplifying things a bit, but yes, the Democrats are an awful excuse for a political party. They allowed themselves to be painted into this corner when they acceded so much authority to Bush last year. Two of their biggest names have developed into toadies for the Republicans. Just about the only thing they've got going for them right now is Kucinich, and as a PR guy told me not too long ago, "He's too short to be President."

But on this lockout--even if the Democrats are handling this clumsily (again), someone should be saying something. It's awfully suspect for a guy who has spent his entire (brief) political career crowing about free markets to intervene in something like this. Awfully convenient that it happens just as poll after poll says most Americans are more concerned about the economy than Desert Storm II: I Love My Daddy. And awfully infuriating that all he ended up doing was invoking the Taft-Hartley Act, which really does nothing other than deny the union's right to collectively bargain.

The Democrats say Bush is anti-labor. Surprise! Washington has been anti-labor forever, and especially so since Clinton fast-tracked NAFTA into the books. This "intervention" is nothing more than another slap on the back for corporate interests, and another nail in the coffin of organized labor. Bush will probably get a few sound bites and photo ops out of it too, which the Democrats will be too inept to counter.

But hey, at least the store shelves will be stocked through the all-important Christmas season...