********* NYTimes: What Democrats Need to Do Now

Strain is getting at the core point that aspiration is not like a brick that just sits there. Aspiration is more like a flame that can be fed or dampened. The venture capitalist Marc Andreessen underlined the point a few years ago: “The problem is desire. We need to *want* these things. The problem is inertia. We need to want these things more than we want to prevent these things.”

In Milwaukee, I have heard a lot of patriotism, but it was the patriotism of nostalgia, not the patriotism of hope. That leaves an opening for the folks who gather in Chicago next month.