Eight Words
Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time

From Senator Chuck Schumer

"In his speech last night we heard the President talking the bipartisan talk, but the substance of the speech shows he has yet to walk the bipartisan walk. He has learned very little. But we have to get beyond the President's disingenuousness and failures to address the question that Democrats must answer if we want to win in 2008: "What do Democrats really stand for?"

My new book Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time defines a new Democratic vision for victory in 2008 and beyond.

The first part includes war stories and colorful anecdotes -- from my improbable Senate election in 1998 to the nearly impossible take-over of the Senate this past fall -- and describes the eight words that carried Bush to reelection in 2004: war in Iraq, cut taxes, no gay marriage. What are our eight words?

That question is answered in the second part of Positively American - "The 50% Solution" - where I present eleven ambitious but concrete goals, to be achieved within ten years. For each goal, I offer a novel solution and explain its importance for our party and our country.

As we respond to the President's speech and begin to think about 2008, let's try to move past our frustration at what he has presented. Instead, let's focus on our own positive agenda and platform; that, more than anything, is what our country desperately needs."