Months ago I stopped more than a cursory scan of Newsweek. Even its Conventional Wisdom has lost its bite. But the current issue has some good (albeit disappointing) stuff, including this affirmation of the Centrist hold on the Democrat Party. If this is what it takes to capture Dem control of Congress, I can tamp my temper long enough to wrest power from the filthy hands of George W Bush. And then the real work can begin…

The sun is just rising over Chattanooga when Harold Ford Jr. begins to pray. A young African-American congressman from Memphis, Ford is running as the Democratic candidate for Senate in Tennessee. Here, in the shadow of Lookout Mountain, an audience of 300 has come out of the early-morning darkness into the historic Read House hotel to hear Ford praise the Lord and lecture man. Dressed in dark suits and hats fit for a Sunday service, they bow their heads and thank a God who “even now has dipped us in fresh, anointing oil.” They shout Hallelujah as a soprano sings “Amazing Grace.” And they cheer and clap when Ford welcomes them, and the spirit of Jesus, into the room. “I love Jesus, I can’t help it,” the congressman tells the crowd. “We serve such a big God,” he shouts, and a chorus of Amens agrees.

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If I lived in Tennessee and I was all superficial and stuff and let a candidate’s physical appearance persuade my vote, Harold Ford Jr. would have it. Whoa!