I think that most, if not all, Democrats would agree that priority No. 1 is ridding the county of this catastrophic administration and ensuring that we don't endure another four years of conservative policymaking under right-wing power.

With that said, the modern American left, in my opinion, often serves as the conscience of the Democratic Party. Today's left is very much a movement of economic and social justice.

How do the New Democrats fit into the contemporary left?

I'm not sure that I buy into the notion that the New Democrats have to fit into the modern left movement. I would argue that both are necessary, as they both add to the party. They act as a sort of checks-and-balances system for the party.

New Democrats have been described as the modernization of liberalism with a heavy focus on progressive policies. At the center of their platform is economic growth versus redistribution. This is followed by traditional American values -- personal responsibility, individual liberty, faith, tolerance, family and hard work. New Democrats want both an activist government and for those who benefit from government to give something back to their country and community. It was a message that evidently resonated with American voters in 1992 with the election of Bill Clinton, who championed the New Democrat philosophy.

But that was 1992, and 16 years later, we see the left's movement invigorated with new life, thanks in part of the horrible policies of the Bush administration.

With America in a recession that no one wants to call by its proper name, a national mortgage crisis, an immigration emergency, a war that won't end and more Americans uninsured and unemployed, the message of economic and social justice for all is resonating loud and clear with many Americans who feel the effects of the current administration.

The role of the left as the party's conscience will be particularly important as we head into the 2008 convention in Denver to select a nominee. As the Democratic Party attempts to send American voters the message that it will provide national security and economic growth, you can count on the left to be front and center waving the banner for ending the Iraq war, defending our civil liberties, ensuring economic justice and universal healthcare, and fighting global warming. In other words, the left will continue to hold the party accountable and push forward a real progressive agenda.

Once we have our nominee, it will be up to the Democratic Party as a whole to put aside ideological differences for the time being and focus on the most effective strategy to capture the White House in November. That crucial goal is where all Democrats' focus should be, regardless of where we fall on the political spectrum within our party.

Jasmyne Cannick is a critic based in Los Angeles who writes about pop culture, race, class and politics as played out in the African American community. She is a regular contributor to National Public Radio's "News and Notes."

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In one of his many fantastical short stories, the Argentine fiction writer Jorge Luis Borges describes "a certain Chinese encyclopedia," the Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge, which divides the world's animals into the following categories:

1. Those that belong to the emperor.
2. Embalmed ones.

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