The Plan

The Plan offers a bold vision of what America can be. It shows the way for both parties to move beyond the old political arguments and make progress for the American people. And it offers an innovative agenda for America – with ideas that address the nation's most pressing challenges by doing more for Americans and asking Americans to do more for their country in return. Each of these ideas offers a clean break with the status quo, yet all are positive, practical, and can be put into action right away. Built on the authors' firm beliefs that politicians owe the people real answers, that citizenship is a responsibility, not an entitlement program, and that the Democratic Party succeeds when America succeeds, the highly anticipated Plan delivers, challenges, and inspires.

A fresh look at the national agenda from two of the most invigorating voices in the Democratic Party

Foreign Affairs

Washington, write Emanuel and Reed, is divided between Hacks andWonks. Wonks focus on policy; Hacks want to win. What the country, and especially the Democratic Party, now need, they claim, is a synthesis of both: people with good policy ideas who know how to win elections. This insight does not exactly dazzle with its originality, nor will readers be surprised that the authors modestly suggest that this wondrous synthesis is precisely what they themselves embody — but let all that pass. The book's real importance is as a guide to the thinking of two bright, centrist Democrats whose views will be carefully reviewed as the party prepares for 2008. The most important big idea in the book is that Democrats should stop defending the New Deal and instead concentrate on recasting it for a more mobile society. Portable pensions and health care are two of the cornerstones of this vision. Less hopeful is an idea that the authors appear to set great store by: a compulsory period of three months of national service and training for all Americans under 25. Wonks will observe that the time is too short to teach anything useful and that while the cost would be high, the real benefits would be few. Hacks will wonder whether even a short-term, nonmilitary draft is really the proposal best calculated to build widespread support among younger voters.

Rahm Emanuel and Bruce Reed served as top aides in Bill Clinton's 1992 and 1996 campaigns and held top policy jobs in the White House. In 1992, Reed helped write Putting People First, the bestselling book on Clinton's agenda. He writes a daily political column for Slate and is the editor-in-chief of Blueprint, the leading magazine of new Democratic ideas. He is President of the Democratic Leadership Council. Representative Emanuel was elected to the United States Congress from the 5th District of Illinois in 2002. He is also chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and point man for the Democrats' effort to recapture the majority.