The Sixty Percent Doctrine

White House spokesman Tony Snow today on the Connecticut primary:

I know a lot of people have tried to make this a referendum on the President; I would flip it. I think instead it's a defining moment for the Democratic Party, whose national leaders now have made it clear that if you disagree with the extreme left in their party they're going to come after you.

CNN:

Sixty percent of Americans oppose the U.S. war in Iraq, the highest number since polling on the subject began with the commencement of the war in March 2003, according to poll results and trends released Wednesday.

And a majority of poll respondents said they would support the withdrawal of at least some U.S. troops by the end of the year, according to results from the Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted last week on behalf of CNN. The corporation polled 1,047 adult Americans by telephone.

This goes beyond predictable, de rigueur political spin from the likes of a hapless Ken Mehlman. When this country's elected political leadership implictly labels 60% of the American public "extreme" for having a different opinion, it betrays its desperation and outs itself as little more than a bunch of contemptible, absolutist rogues.

I know "vigilance" has been the watchword in this space for awhile, but I suspect its importance will only increase over the coming weeks and months.