Don't fall in love too fast.
That's the rule of thumb in romance. And it should be true in politics, too.

The last few weeks, we've been presented with two new Democratic bachelors, each eager to marry the voters of America. "Not Your Daddy's Democrat" reads the cover of Newsweek, with a glowing profile of Rep. Harold Ford, now in a close Senate race in Tennessee.

And first-term U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has been everywhere, from magazine covers to Sunday talk shows, hawking a new book and deftly juggling questions about a presidential run in 2008.

Whoa, Nelly! Before swooning over celebrity messengers to carry the party to victory in 2006 and beyond, Democrats have the right - actually, the duty - to ask tough questions. Call me an old-fashioned girl, but I want to know: Where do these guys stand on the issues?

First, let's test-drive Ford. He voted for a federal bankruptcy bill that lets big banks squeeze more money from families already overwhelmed by job loss and medical bills. He supported an indefensible immigration bill that called for rounding up and deporting 12 million illegal immigrants, revealing a profound ignorance as to how our economy works. He voted for a Bush health care plan that, masquerading as a real solution, would have driven up insurance costs and driven more workers into the ranks of the 47 million uninsured.

Obama has a better record and more promise. But he backed an energy bill that piles big subsidies on oil and gas companies and voted to make it even harder for regular people to get access to the courts when they've been hurt by corporations.

Some say he shouldn't run for President because he doesn't have enough experience. But the real question isn't whether he is ready. It's: Is he right?

I know why so many are so eager to make poster children out of these two. They're both intelligent, charismatic, curious - everything we've come to crave after six years shacked up with our nation's leader and his bumbling sidekicks. And it doesn't hurt that Obama and Ford are African-American, embodying hope for a day when we can transcend the racism that has plagued our nation.

But in such a challenging time in America, where so many discussions critical to our future are at stake, the American people need to focus on the song, not on the rock star - on solutions, not saviors.

So, forget Ford and Obama for now. The Democratic Party would be far better served by getting Americans behind an agenda, then finding someone who can advance that agenda.

In the end, we may wind up falling for either man - maybe even for both - and they will be stronger leaders for having been tested. So now's no time for an arranged marriage. Let the long, slow courtship begin

Executive Director of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy