I go a little nuts when I hear Democrats talk about the recent election in terms of programs and policies---that we simply didn't blow our own horns loudly enough. We exist in a society so dominated by a media focus on celebrity that no subject with even a smidgen of factual information has a chance of taking more than one breath in a public forum. Last week a space ship landed on a comet---breathtaking. Unfortunately the comet landing was easily upstaged with a camera lens which landed on Kim Kardashian's bare backside. Personally, I did not go looking for Kim's buttocks. But every time I turned on my computer, there was the picture again and again. Kim has reached the lunar landing level of celebrity status---her latest quip being, "One large cheek for man, the other cheek for mankind".  Democrats will win when they master the art of manufactured personas and studied quips, not when they can explain policies better.

Of course some wonk will immediately counter my premise of persona by pointing out the win of the governor's race by Dan Malloy in Connecticut who in the past day is providing post mortem advice to all the Democratic candidates who will now be returning to law firms, K Street, foundations and banks. If such losers had only stuck to the accomplishments of the Democratic party, of the Obama administration in particular, they would not be packing their bags. And, if you happened to catch the Governor's election debates with Foley I would have to agree with you that Malloy isn't a manufactured persona with high celebrity currency. In fact I wouldn't even say he is more charismatic than Foley. But Connecticut is unique. So to extrapolate Malloy's campaign to other states in future elections would be Folly.

What facilitated Malloy's win is that his state has a high level of smart people---which is not something Democrats can count on in other states. I refer you to relatively current data on the educational attainment levels of the citizenry in various states, and Connecticut has the third highest number of degreed folks per capita, just behind, yes, Minnesota and Vermont.

My point is that a low key policy oriented individual who has his facts and accomplishments well rehearsed can win as a Democrat in a state full of smart people plus rich couples in Greenwich who know how to split tickets. But don't try the wonkish approach in a place like Kentucky which has the lowest number of degrees per capita in the country, aside from Texas, Mississippi and Alabama. What was required in Kentucky was a candidate with a coon skin cap, a rifle, a bible---a "character" if you will. Grimes was Malloy in the wrong state.

One is led naturally to a discussion of the persona of Obama, a journalistic favorite, and here, finally, some terms may be defined. I specifically refer to manufactured persona, not personhood persona---private persona---, projection of private persona, or even persona which may be legitimately adopted by an actor doing his job. Manufactured persona, in the political sphere, is a purposeful fake personality created by handlers, and abetted by our national media. Examples are Ted Cruz and Teddy Roosevelt. And a majority of people today would add Barack Obama to that list---that is, back in 2008.

I think ahead to the 2016 election season. Trillions of words will be expended in the attempt to extrapolate the few Democratic wins in states with intelligent citizenry to the country as a whole two years later. The thought of 2016 fills me with dread and trembling. What the country needs is a good actor to divert our attention. Either Rand Paul or Ted Cruz would fill the bill. But there the Democrats will be with Hillary, or Elizabeth, or even Dan Malloy---explaining, explaining, documenting, teaching, fact finding, and truthful to the end. My head hurts just to imagine the disaster which awaits us in 2016.