HOW HE SEES IT Don't let Democrats' smiles fool you

By ERIC MINK
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Make no mistake: There may be good cheer in the air as the Democrats convene this week at Boston's FleetCenter, but there's fury in their hearts.
The upbeat speeches and mild backhanded slaps at President George W. Bush coming from the podium cry out for on-screen captions spelling out what the speakers are aching to proclaim but can't because of tactical orders from Sen. John Kerry's campaign to rein in the attack rhetoric:
"To ensure success in the war on terrorism, the Kerry administration will make sure America is respected abroad." (As opposed to despised and ridiculed, thanks to those weasels in the White House!)
"Under President Kerry, America will once again stand as a shining example of freedom, opportunity and ingenuity." (As opposed to becoming a private treasury for the enrichment of fat-cat pals of those weasels in the White House!)
The inner voice screaming at Democrats and liberals in 2004 is the voice of Howard Beale, the fictional veteran newscaster played by Peter Finch in the 1976 movie "Network." "I want you get out of your chairs and go to the window. Right now!" Beale commands in a famous on-air rant. "I want you to go to the window, open it and stick your head out and yell, 'I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!"'
Democrats are mad as hell, and the synchronicity of a presidential election year and the betrayal represented by the war in Iraq has pumped up their frustrations to critical mass: They're not going to take it anymore.
The roots of the Democrats' wrath lie in a media revolution that began with the national syndication of Rush Limbaugh's talk-radio show in 1988.
Limbaugh wannabes
Limbaugh's talent ("On loan from God," he jokes) and broadcasting skills made his outrageous conservative advocacy not just palatable but enormously entertaining. The combination of qualities attracted millions of listeners and became the template for turning moribund AM radio stations into profit centers. Talk radio -- conservative talk radio -- spread through American media like kudzu, spawning a generation of Limbaugh wannabes.
The style of these Visigoth personalities was remarkably consistent -- free-wheeling and free-swinging -- and it was effective. Political adversaries were ridiculed, belittled, shouted down and savaged into submission by withering, relentless attacks.
By 1996, Limbaugh and his pale imitators had deposited enough ripe compost to assure success for the launch of the like-minded Fox News Channel. The power of the Internet echo chamber extended the reach of their messages and conspiracy theories, and the new medium's easy interactivity created an illusion of influence that subtly intimidated traditional news outlets.
Also by 1996, Bill Clinton -- considered the incarnation of the profligate counterculture of the 1960s -- had become the irresistible, ideal target of these attack dogs, and the president's character defects kept them supplied with plenty of red meat.
But Clinton and his team knew something about attack politics, too, and docility was not in his personality. When the right began its methodical campaign for his impeachment, Clinton did not go quietly, and the failure to remove him from office became an object lesson in aggressive resistance. The right, it turned out, was neither infallible nor invincible.
The last infuriating straw for American liberals was the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to shut down vote recounts in Florida in December 2000, thereby making Bush president. Liberal outrage gained potency and might have kept the Bush administration hamstrung had it not been for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Americans rallied behind their president, but Bush and his neoconservative backers overreached 18 months later with their war against Iraq, solidifying the seething opposition and seeding enough doubt and confusion in the center to now jeopardize his re-election.
X Eric Mink is commentary editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.