Hugh Hewitt, contributing writer

Our political drama begins in the conference room of the AFL-CIO headquarters on 16th Street in Washington, D.C. President John Sweeney, in his eighth year of leading the 65-member union organization, is slumped in a chair, staring at the huge portrait of the AFL-CIO's first president, George Meany. Meany led the AFL-CIO from 1955 until his retirement in 1979. In 1972, the AFL-CIO refused to endorse George McGovern, and while playing a round of golf with Richard Nixon, Meany assured the president that the president would carry the Meany household.

Sweeney is talking to the portrait.

George, did you watch that circus on Saturday night? Could you get through it? Trumka almost had a cow. He says to me, "Sweeney, we are going to get murdered. Just killed."

I said nothing. What could I say, George? Howard Dean, for crying sakes. I've got locals with more voters than he ever polled in Vermont. He's getting all the professors' money, the Post says. Just great. What a twerp. Can you believe he said the country needs to prepare for the day when it's no longer top dog? Can you imagine telling the UAW to prepare for the day that Michigan is a right-to-work state? Where do we get these people?

And Kerry? They are calling him John Grimjaw, and that's the best thing they are calling him. Like our guys want a wealthy scold. Lot of veterans in the halls, George, just like the old days. They remember the medals stunt. It doesn't fly with them, no matter how many bullets he dodged.

George, you had McGovern, but I've got a carnival. They actually let Kucinich on the stage, and Sharpton, and Carol Moseley Braun, too. This is the Democratic party and it can't say no to losers like this? Sure, we gotta let Graham on stage, he's a senator. But these three? Dragging us into the ditch George, and we are too weak to say no way.

Graham and Edwards, there's another problem. We are going to get whacked in the Senate. Daschle's in trouble. So's Reid and Murray and Hollings. Boxer thinks she walks on water, but she hasn't been on an undercard with this guy in the White House in the main event, and she's thick as a box of bricks to boot. Even Schumer could be iffy. Remember '80, George. Lane didn't see it coming, and those senators started dropping like fly balls in the gap.

So what do Graham and Edwards do? Leave us two more holes to fill in the Senate. And for what? So they can bore a national audience to death. All that buzz about Edwards, and he's still in the gate, talking about his parents. Just another big wallet lawyer, all talk. Graham wants to be veep, sure, but really. Like Florida's gonna vote for its past instead of its future.

Lieberman, God love him, tried to talk sense to them. But half of them were against the war. How's Lieberman going to spin that? And you and I both know he hasn't got a prayer anywhere in the primaries. A great v.p. pick--what a description for the history books.