Political Landscape Changes as Presidential Hopefuls Take Stage

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• MARGARET WARNER:

  With the 2006 elections behind us and the '08 presidential campaign already gearing up, what does the political terrain look like for the two major parties, their elected officials, and their candidates-to-be?

  To explore that, we turn to five political analysts, thinkers and authors on this issue.

  Michael Fauntroy, a professor at the George Mason School of Public Policy, wrote the just-released book, "Republicans and the Black Vote."

  David Frum, a contributing editor at the National Review magazine, has just finished a book on conservatism, "The Next Republican President." It's scheduled for release early next year.

  Andrew Sullivan is a conservative commentator and author. His new book is "The Conservative Soul: How we Lost It, How to Get it Back."

  Peter Beinart is editor-at-large of the New Republic magazine and author of "The Good Fight: Why Liberals and Only Liberals Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again."

  And Tom Edsall is a former senior political reporter for the Washington Post and now a professor at the Columbia School of Journalism. His new book is "Building Red America: The New Conservative Coalition and the Drive for Permanent Power."

  Well, you've all been very busy, but let's talk about the political terrain. Peter Beinart, beginning with you, as 2007 is dawning, what does the political landscape look like to you of this country? And has it changed in the last year or two?