The Contenders

Is there a difference between one Democratic candidate and another? Or has the electoral system leveled the field, so that it always and only comes down to money and powerful friends? For the first time in many years, the Democratic Party contenders--those who want to be president, and those who are impacting the terms of the public discussion--are placing issues and identity at the forefront of their campaigns. A black man and a woman are both viable candidates. A populist from the South and a progressive from Cleveland are propelling the party from the center to a more liberal platform. A vice president makes a comeback. But we still have to wonder--and worry--if any of them has what it takes to turn the system around and begin to dig us out of the quagmire that this country has created at home and abroad. Some of the nation's wittiest and best-informed commentators look beyond the campaign promises, the mudslinging, and the personal testimony to present another side of the story: Will any of these politicians be able to transcend politics and make a difference?

Thulani Davis (writing on Dennis Kucinich) is the author, most recently, of "My Confederate Kinfolk: A Twenty-first Century Freedwoman Discovers Her Roots."

Laura Flanders (writing on Hillary Clinton) is the host of "RadioNation" on Air America Radio network. She is the author of "Blue Grit: Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians."

Richard Goldstein (writing on Barack Obama, the new man in American politics) writes regularly for "The Nation." He is the author of "Homocons: The Rise of the Gay Right."

Dean Kuipers (writing on Al Gore) is the managing editor of "CityBeat," the alternative weekly of Los Angeles, and is the author of "Burning Rainbow Farm: How a Stoner Utopia Went Up in Smoke."

James Ridgeway (writing on John Edwards) is "Mother Jones"' Washington, DC, bureau chief and the author of "The Five Unanswered Questions about 9/11."