The primary field really is bad–for Democrats. As the media and voters scrutinize the Republican contenders, it is easy to forget how weak and unpopular the incumbent is. Polls suggest a majority of Americans want to replace President Barack Obama in 2012, and Democrats are hitting the panic button–even as Obama enjoys a slight bounce in approval–because they realize he has failed.

In the end-of-the-year countdown spirit, here are the top ten Democrats who would be better presidential candidates than Barack Obama in 2012:

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10. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr.

Losing his Senate race in 2006 seems to have freed the former Tennessee congressman to speak his mind. He has bucked liberal dogma on foreign policy and the Keystone XL pipeline, and offers independent, common sense ideas.

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9. Sen. Joe Manchin

West Virginia’s junior senator can tout his experience as governor and his victory in a tough political climate. He appeals to independents with his opposition to climate change legislation, and his criticism of his own party’s stalling in the Senate.

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On BigHollywood I once shared my thoughts on the movie Glory and how Col. Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the 54^th Mass., was an example of a post-racial man in his day – indeed he went to his death for his belief in the rights of the free Black men under his command with whom he shared a common grave.

One of my favorite characters in this film was Sergeant-Major Rawlins, played by the esteemed actor Morgan Freeman.  Rawlins, a grave-digger before enlisting in the Union army, is presented as an older, wiser and honest man whom the others look up to…and Shaw himself leans on for counsel.  Perhaps the best scene in the film is the altercation between Rawlins and the embittered and recalcitrant Private Silas Tripp (Denzel Washington).  Rawlins berates Tripp harshly after Tripp derides his compliance with the chain of command, in which only Whites were allowed to be officers, as making him a “…n****r…nothing but the White man’s dog.”  Rawlins then bitch-slaps Tripp across the face and stings him with these words of wisdom and caution:

“And what are you? So full of hate you just want to go out and fight everybody.  Because you’ve  been whipped and chased by hounds.  Well that may not be living but it sure as hell ain’t dying.  And dying’s what these white boys been doing for going on three years now.  Dying by the thousands.  Dyin’ for you, fool!  I know ‘cause I dug the graves. And all the time I’m digging I’m asking myself when, oh Lord, when’s it gonna be our time?  Well our time’s comin’ when we gonna have to ante up.  Ante up and kick in like men…like men!  So you watch who you call a n****r.  If there’s any n****rs around here it’s you.  A smart mouth, stupid-ass, swamp-running n****r.  And if you ain’t careful that’s all you ever gonna be!”

What I like(d) about Morgan Freeman besides his acting is that, until recently, I felt this Rawlins mentality was not far from that of the actor who portrayed him.  Rawlins was a man who, though clearly the victim of racism himself, would not allow race to be an excuse for failure.  And thus I thought Freeman to be a post-racial man and disparaging of those who view the world through the prism of color.

Consider this excerpt from a 2005 interview with Mike Wallace when the actor exposes the hypocrisy of the 60 Minutes journalist for his condescending attitude towards Blacks that is so common among the white-guilt ridden liberal elite…even as they remain oblivious to their own racism that is just as pernicious if not more so than that of a klansman because of its very subtly.  Mike Wallace asked Freeman his thoughts on so-called Black History Month:

Freeman: “Ridiculous.”

Wallace: “Why?”

Freeman: “You’re gonna relegate my history to a month?”

Wallace: “Oh come on—”

Freeman: “What do you do with yours?  What month is ‘white history month’?”

Wallace: [Uncomfortable hemming and hawing.] “Well…”

Freeman: “No, come on.”

Wallace: [Uncomfortable noises. Waves away notion with sweep of hand] “I’m Jewish.”

Freeman: “Okay.  Which month is ‘Jewish history month’?”

Wallace: “There isn’t one.”

Freeman: “Oh…Oh…why not?  Do you want one?”

Wallace: [rather emphatic] “No, no, no I don’t—”

Freeman: “Alright.  I don’t either.  I don’t want a ‘Black history month.’  Black history is American history.”

Wallace: “How are we going to get rid of racism until—”

Freeman: “Stop talking about it.  I’m gonna stop calling you a ‘white man.’  And I’m gonna ask you to stop calling me a ‘black man.’  I know you as Mike Wallace and you know me as Morgan Freeman.  I’m not gonna say ‘I know this white guy named Mike Wallace.’ You know what I’m saying?”

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Throughout the ACORN undercover sting video saga, no one has been more willing to assassinate the character of ACORN’s opponents than the hired guns at the left-wing group Media Matters for America.

Headed by former journalist and confessed serial liar David Brock, the extremely well-funded Washington, D.C.-based defamation factory has gone out of its way to attack conservative activists James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles, online news entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart, and this website – the truth be damned.

It’s worth noting that even the New York Times describes Media Matters as a “highly partisan research organization.”

Media Matters is only interested in generating a body count and won’t let facts get in the way.

Nothing better illustrates the depths to which Media Matters is willing to sink in order to protect its allies and smear its opponents than its outrageously irresponsible commentary on the ACORN undercover video saga.

Remember that ACORN provides the “shock troops” of the left. ACORN gets the vote out. ACORN wins elections. Those Democratic politicians who don’t love ACORN fear it – and for good reason. To the establishment left, ACORN must be defended at all costs.

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On Fox News Sunday, anchor Chris Wallace named James O’Keefe the Power Player of the Week. For those keeping score at home; the Census has cut ties with ACORN, the House and Senate have voted overwhelmingly to cut off federal funds to ACORN, the IRS has severed its ties and placed tax liens on the organization, the Treasurary Department’s Inspector General has opened a review, and numerous state and local government have opened investigations of the troubled community organizer. Better yet, a certain leftist organization continues to spin itself far beyond any credibility it might ever have possessed.  Yes, that adds up to a Power Player in our book.