I blogged this weekend about SNL ripping the Democratic field apart and noted that I really couldn’t see how this group could be considered an amazingly great lineup. I wanted to further make note of something else that is increasingly bothering me about the Democratic field, namely that they have largely become a gigantic group of whiners and crybabies, especially when it comes to Clinton.

At the start of this race every person in the media and every pundit could not stop talking about the multitude of reasons Hillary Clinton would never get the nomination or be elected. Chief amongst them was the skepticism that a woman could get elected. Beyond that though was the fear that Clinton herself would alienate women voters.

Today we live in a whole different world and as Clinton increasingly courts female voters the rest of the field seems like it cannot shut up about what a horrible thing it is that she is trying to relate to this slight majority of the population.

Barack Obama was out saying he doesn’t use his race to try and get votes. Looking at his poll numbers, he probably should. John and Elizabeth Edwards have increasingly charged that he cannot possibly compete with the fact that Clinton is a woman and Barack Obama is black. Meanwhile I have to ask, is there suddenly a void of white christian males who vote? Is the fact that a woman and an african American are running really the reasoning why John Edwards is so far below in the polls and in fundraising? Isn’t it possible that it has more to do with a terrible platform and a weak campaign? I think so and whining about it has only made it worse for Edwards.

It isn’t just the gender thing either. Joe Biden and Mike Gravel cannot stop whining they don’t get enough TV coverage and Chris Dodd seems to whine about everything and everyone in the known Universe. Everytime he is on television I heard the word “unfair” at least twice. Bill Richardson doesn’t whine as much but he does keep saying “this is what I would do” and “as Governor of New Mexico” both of which get really annoying.

Dennis Kucinich, a man who seems like he would have ample things in life to whine about is probably the most stable of the group and he doesn’t have a shot in hell of receiving the nomination. Hell Kucinich seems like he has the most conviction behind everything he has to say. I hate to say it but when Kucinich talks he actually sounds like the only guy in the room who knows what he is saying and how to get his point across. Which is terrible because everything he says is bats**t crazy.

Meanwhile up until the other night’s debate Hillary Clinton has done a rather good job of not whining and instead being quite assertive. Then things changed as she whined out “Chris, I never said that” to Senator Dodd in a whiny and really annoying way. Even worse, she did say what she was accused of and almost immediately her campaign was out whining that Tim Russert was too hard on her.

Democrats don’t help themselves when they continually whine. Having received the first high marks on defense from public polling in a VERY long time, they need to start sounding assertive, tuff and as far removed from the liberal ivy league pacifist establishment that they can. They need to stop sounding like the whiny Al Gore and the weak Mike Dukakis.

Clinton had been doing that fine until the debate. Most nights she sounded more like Giuliani than Giuliani. That is the kind of voice which will get her or any other democrat elected. This other voice though. This “Teacher, teacher, Ms. Clinton is trying to get all the girls to like her. Teacher, teacher, the republicans are being mean to Barack Obama. Teacher, teacher, George Bush isn’t playing fair” nonsense isn’t going to cut it.

Sad to say for Democrats but the closer we get toward Iowa, the less presidential the entire field sounds.