The Dems are considering ceding the south to Bush in '04. Good. That means the only southern state they may get is Florida, and that's not a sure thing. Here's the Inquirers take:

Fearing that their next presidential nominee could bomb in Dixie, many Democrats are hinting that it might be smart for the party to virtually write off the Deep South and pursue victory elsewhere.

Officially, Democrats declare that they will compete with President Bush everywhere in the nation. But, privately, there is serious concern that their nominee will lose every state of the Old Confederacy, with the possible exception of Florida - a scenario that seems especially likely if they choose Howard Dean, the antiwar Vermont Yankee who, as governor, signed a bill legalizing gay civil unions.

A Dixie strategy has always seemed essential; no Democrat has ever been elected president without winning at least a few Southern states. But, faced with Bush's strong popularity in that GOP-trending region, Democratic operatives seem willing to entertain a strategy that would defy history: assembling an Electoral College majority from states in the Northeast, Midwest, Southwest and on the West Coast. After all, their 2000 nominee, Al Gore, almost pulled it off.

Gore couldn't even win his "home" state. If Bush just takes the south including Oklahoma, that's 178 electoral votes. Add in the mid-west and potentially taking New Mexico and Maryland would do it. New Mexico may be the one state that may go against what it did in '00. Iowa will also be another state to watch.