If you were a member of an ailing, fractured political party with only eight months to go until mid-term elections and presidential aspirations of your own, what would you do?

Well, last week Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., decided to call for the censure of President Bush in an attempt to punish the administration for giving the OK to secretly wiretap and monitor Americans who may or may not pose a threat to national security.

Attaboy, Feingold.

Nothing like a rogue senator alienating the American public.

Not to mention the fact that other Democratic senators have made it abundantly clear that they want nothing to do with the latest endeavor to conquer the White House, for fear it will disenfranchise voters come election time.

Thus far, only one other Democrat, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, has chosen to support the Feingold's proposal.

If anything, Democrats should be rewarded once again for helping give mid-term election success to Republicans on a silver platter.

It's clear that the Democrats need to become a more cohesive unit, and Feingold's lack of support merely exemplifies this fact.

Perhaps it would have been wise to approach one's Democratic peers to discuss whether or not they would be willing to support such a maneuver, instead of acting unilaterally.

Perhaps it would have been wise to appeal to the average American Democratic constituent, instead of just giving a reactionary, half-hearted slap on the wrist for revenge.

Perhaps it would be even better if the Democrats could step back and ask what exactly it is that their constituents want.