The Democratic Leadership Council was the intellectual core of the only two-term Democratic administration since FDR. Ten years ago, if the DLC spoke, people listened. Nowadays the DLC is more or less ignored by the leading Democratic presidential contenders. It’s ironic that the Clinton administration put the DLC on the map, but that Hillary Clinton is as eager to distance herself from the DLC as is Barack Obama. That said, both candidates would do well to heed the organization’s advice to call for spending cuts:
McCain’s longstanding opposition to pork-barrel spending will go a long way to establishing his bona fides on reducing spending. He’s also called for entitlement reforms that almost certainly will lead to reduced outlays over time. Obama and Clinton would be well served to lay out a similar agenda.
