Ed Rendell has this way of speaking that takes the complicated issues and boils them down to the plain and simple truth. You get the impression the guy is just being honest - no obvious attempts at spin, no putting on a show for the TV audience, as some tend to do. Although CNN, in their quest to become "FOX Lite", wants to play up his line about Dems being "wusses" for maximum effect, you have to hear the context in which it's said - and he's right (and give some points to Spitzer for leading him to it).
The Democrats, as a general whole, do run from their strengths and principles - so much so that most people have a hard time discerning what it is they stand for. This not only allows the left to project all their hopes and wishes on the party, which naturally has led to disappointment, it allows the teanuts to define the Democrats in any way they choose and make it stick. And that hasn't been pretty.
Not sure what the future holds for Rendell; like Granholm, he is term-limited out after this year, and like Granholm, he has paid the price for having a split legislature in a rough economy (the situation in Pennsylvania was nearly identical to ours - Dem House, obstructionist Repub Senate). Rumor has it he is interested in Rahm's job, which would be very interesting indeed. I would rather see him as the head of the DNC. Someone needs to herd these guys into a coherent platform and then be able to articulate it to the public - and Ed's pretty good at that. Watch and see.