After its resounding defeat last November, I thought that the Democratic Party would surely learn from its mistakes. I thought the party activists and elites would abandon their losing game plan of placing coastal liberals into leadership positions. I thought the removal of Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) would spark a coup within the Democratic Party through which the centrists would overthrow liberals such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe and the continually failing establishment. Apparently, like my selection of the Indianapolis Colts over the New England Patriots, I am wrong again.

McAuliffe’s removal as chairman of the DNC provided the Democratic Party with an opportunity to start anew. The senatorial map for 2006 is very favorable to the Democratic Party, with numerous Republican senators in “blue” states up for re-election. Provided the Democratic Party selects centrist leadership, it can protect its seats in red states and clean up the contested seats in the blue states. Apparently, the centrist leadership must wait for another election cycle.

Upon receiving the endorsement of the majority of Democratic state committee chairs, former Presidential candidate Howard Dean has become the clear favorite for chairman of the DNC. For whatever reason, the Democratic Party is stubbornly intent on nominating northeastern liberals to high-profile leadership positions. Why?

If history had an endorsement for the DNC chair, it would support anyone other than a northeastern liberal. Former Texas Rep. Martin Frost, a moderate Democrat from the South, threw his hat into the ring, but after viewing the results from the state chairmen’s vote, he removed his name from consideration. Call the emergency room, Dr. Dean’s going to put the party in cardiac arrest!

To his credit, Dean has organizational qualities that would make him an effective chairman. As chairman of the DNC, Dean would bridge the gap between Republican and Democratic fundraising levels. During his failed presidential run, Dean nourished a previously untapped money source — the Internet. It is reasonable to conclude that Dean would pump a ton of money from the Internet into DNC coffers, but by and large, fundraising was not the reason for Bush’s victory and fundraising will not make up for Dean’s flaws.

Make no mistake about it, Dean will use any success the Democrats have in 2006 to springboard himself to the party’s 2008 presidential nomination. Is it wise to elect a leader who is self-serving and anything but a team player? I do not think so.

The Democratic Party must follow the Clintonian model of centrism and select leadership that moves the party toward the political Right. Consider the party’s presidential nominees since Lyndon Johnson. With the exception of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, all the nominees, excluding George McGovern, have been from Massachusetts or Minnesota. Are there no other states with qualified presidential candidates? The M&M candidates as I like to call them — Humphrey, Mondale, Dukakis and Kerry — melted in America’s hands and lost their presidential campaigns. When the Democrats did win, they selected candidates Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, who epitomized the winning formula for recent presidential victors. Both ascended to the White House from southern governors’ mansions, both overtly touted their Christian faith and both possessed a suave personality. Dean and the current liberal establishment do not exhibit these qualities.

There are three things certain in this world: death, taxes and that Howard Dean will say something outrageous. Remember Democrats, this is the man who broke out the “I Have a Scream” speech shortly after his poor performance in the Iowa caucuses. To a lot of Democrats and Americans in general, he came off as a crazy nut job, and his already unstable campaign imploded shortly afterward. This is the man who described heartland Americans — a demographic Democrats must improve with — as driving pickup trucks with Confederate flags. This is the man who said, “If Bill Clinton could be the first black president, I can be the first gay president,” while attending a pro-gay fundraiser in New York.