although i'm a lifelong Noo Yawker and Democrat, i first started really paying attention to Senator Chuck Schumer after he appeared on a couple of television news shows, one local and one national, in the aftermath of the terrible attacks of 9/11.

Senator Schumer (along with Senator Hilllary Clinton) had visited President George W Bush seeking disaster relief for New York. if i recall correctly his telling it, Senator Schumer had in mind $10 billion as the minimum amount New York would need. So, he gave President Bush a 'high-ball' figure of $20 billion. Senator Schumer was happily surprised when President Bush gave a wave of the hand and said this would be no problem. not only that (Senator Schumer emphasized), but President Bush didn't try to game the offer by saying it would be spread out over a lengthy period, during which there would always be the implicit threat of the money's being withheld or delayed if NY's Senators didn't play ball with him.

in relating this to the viewers of the local tv newscast, Senator Schumer adopted a tone of earnestness and sincerity. but, on the national broadcast, the Jewish Democrat from 27th Street in Brooklyn spoke of the born-to-privilege Texan Evangelical Republican with a warmth and glow as if the President were his favorite uncle in the world.

i thought to myself at the time: this guy is no fool.

more recently, i heard a couple of radio interviews of Senator Schumer speaking of his new book "Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time." i was overjoyed! finally, i thought to myself, a Democrat not from the Deep South who 'gets it'! [Senator Joe Lieberman, another great American and great Democrat, likewise gets it. for his trouble, he has been all but driven out of the Democratic Party. perhaps this was because, in general, Senator Lieberman was not sufficiently willing to put political partisanship above what he believes to be the national interest, and, specifically, because he was not weak enough on national defense {the party's most vulnerable Achilles Heel}.]

however, fortunately for Connecticut, and America, Senator's Schumer's mythical middle class couple Joe and Eileen Bailey have, once again overruled the party elites by returning Senator Lieberman to office -- as an independent {:sighing:}.

keeping the focus on the needs and aspirations of Massapequa Long Island's Joe and Eileen Bailey, and their demographic counterparts around the country, is a stroke of genius on the part of Senator Schumer. i have my own conceptual framework for explaining the gap between too many Democratic opinion-leaders and those who occupy the 'hump' of the electoral bell curve. but, whereas my construct entails somewhat fuzzy abstractions that are burdened by connotations that will leave some on the left feeling threatened, few can claim that there is no widespread agreement on who Joe and Eileen Bailey are, why they matter to any party that wants to be in the majority, and why they deserve the genuine respect of anyone who claims to be acting in the "public's" interest.

refreshingly, Senator Schumer doesn't just talk-the-talk of looking out for Joe and Eileen Bailey's interests. he literally walks-the-walk, visiting public gatherings and schmoozing with voters just like them in every one of New York state's 62 counties at least once a year.

his striking success as Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee at winning back the Senate for the party in 2006 speaks for itself. but, Senator Schumer is quick to point out, more than once, that Democrats can't return to being the majority party solely on the strength of the voters' rejection of Republican greed and incompetence. in addition, Democrats must have an affirmative message of what they stand for. and, at least part of that message must resonate favorably with Joe and Eileen Bailey.

there can be constructive disagreement about what programs best serve the interests of the Baileys, and the country as a whole. for example, picking up on an issue another poster raised, it is by no means certain that throwing more money at the public schools will reverse our country's continuing slide in test scores relative to students in other countries. my understanding is that, as with health care (an area in which the private sector has not covered itself in glory), America is already spending more per capita than every other country, while continuing to fall behind in outcomes.

but, in my opinion, there can be no rational disagreement that intensifying the Democratic Party's focus on the Joe and Eileen Baileys of America is the only path to securely regaining the majority of voters.