I once had a discussion with E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post that centered on the reason Democrats have such a hard time winning elections. We were at a dinner together and duck was on the menu, but more about DUCK later.

Anyway, Mr. Dionne is a smart fellow, and he pontificated cerebrally on the democratic parties’ dilemma. I, understanding that the best and the brightest democratic political operatives had deliberated this question endlessly and still hadn't won the last two presidential cycles, went with my gut and offered my heartfelt opinion.

“Mr. Dionne,” I said, having sipped a little too much Cold DUCK and therefore was not sounding as brilliant as I sometimes do, “the Democratic Party is the party of the people. Democrats by nature are kinder and gentler. They are democrats because they care about their fellow man. They want their country to be inclusive and offer opportunity to the masses. The Republicans focus is money and business. Republicans think with their heads, while democrats vote with their hearts.”

Mr. Dionne, looked at me as if I were a DUCK, and clearly couldn’t wrap himself around my argument.

I hope the voting democrats in this election will. For once again the Democratic Party is close to getting itself cooked by the opposition in the coming election.  Gently, craftily, and oh so brilliantly the right DUCK-wing party is working its genius. And voting democrats don’t have a clue how skillfully they are being roasted.

The opening shot of this political season was Karl Rove’s now famous piece in the The Financial Times with advice to Barack Obama on how to beat Hillary Clinton. I listened to much twitter from Democrats on how amusing Mr. Rove’s piece was, but heard no Democrats see into the draconian purpose of Mr. Rove’s article.

Similarly, in early December, Vice President Cheney’s biographer, Stephen F. Hayes, had a story in The Weekly Standard, “Saint Barack of Iowa, the Democratic contest comes down too Hope versus Muscle.”  Neocon William Kristol wrote an editorial in the same magazine, “Time to Move On…From Hillary…And from the Clinton’s Brand of Politics.”  Even Rush Limp-baugh has weighed in on the Obama candidacy, but we won’t go there, his words unseemly.

Suffice it to say that never have Republicans shown quite the affection for a Democratic candidate or offered their DUCK soup bowl of advice on how to get elected so freely to the opposition party. Getting the picture?

It seems the Republicans have chosen their Democratic candidate, Mr. Obama. And while there are many reasons why Senator Obama is the right-left man for the Republicans to be the Democratic nominee for the job, the obvious is that nothing would give the right DUCK-wing more pleasure than seeing Hillary and Bill brought to their knees should Senator Clinton lose the nomination. Hm.

Moreover, the conservatives understand, what the democratic voting block does not, and that is that Barack Obama would be an easy target for the Republican’s come the National election. The charming and hopeful neophyte Illinois Senator, unlike Mrs. Clinton, would be the conservative’s sitting DUCK. Oh, wouldn’t Mr. Cheney and his party have a gun-filled time with the freshman Senator! It would be open season against the un-vetted and inexperienced Mr. Obama.

So unless the Democratic Party starts thinking a little more with their brains and not their hearts, and nominates a candidate who has weathered the Republican hunt, I have my own advice for Senator Obama.

You might want to think about buying yourself a major flak vest, Senator Obama. Should you win the nomination that lame DUCK Dick Cheney and his conservative boys are coming after you, bigtime. And we all know what kind of shot the vice president is. So, unless you want to become a dead DUCK in the political water, you’d better DUCK…DUCK…DUCK!