Forest versus Trees in Presidential Politics
Jonathan Alter warns that Democrats' constant harping about every misstep by the Bush Administration might have the effect of overhype and leave serious charges about a major scandal toothless. He also believes that scandal to be upon us, in the story of the President's Medicare bill:

"The Democrats are in danger of losing perspective on mendacity in the Bush administration, crying wolf so often that voters stop noticing the real abuses. That's what was wrong with John Kerry's off-mike comments about the Republicans' being a bunch of liars and crooks. To be believable, he has to go to real cases with real culprits, like the Big Medicare Con now coming to light."
[snip]
"You might think this is standard operating procedure in Washington. It is not. Every White House sends the press secretary out to spin the numbers that emerge on a weekly or monthly basis from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other agencies. But applying political pressure to cook the numbers themselves is a true scandal."

I think he's right. But there is a broader, more important goal in pointing to the "real cases." The upcoming debate has to be framed around the idea that this administration is dishonest, inept and fails the American people generally. And you do that with a catalogue of errors, not just one or 2 major cases. We win not just by saying that serious errors have been made--people get over those--but by convincing people, as early as possible, that the leadership of this country is fundamentally flawed. The Iraq War has already been accepted by voters, and the tax cuts will too if unemployment turns around. But lying and cover-up to get their way will not, especially if it's a pattern.