Over the weekend, the Democratic Party completed a draft of its 2008 platform. While it may be up for minor revisions at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Denver at the end of the month, it essentially outlines what the Democrats' vision of "change" really means.

The platform--titled "Renewing America's Promise"-begins with the lofty rhetoric that has been commonplace in Democratic candidate Barack Obama's campaign in both the primary and general elections. It sets the context by describing the present as a "defining moment in the history of our nation" and argues that the country stands at a critical juncture.

The platform makes many bold proclamations and promises on a wide variety of issues including women's rights, abortion, sexism, and healthcare. While it occasionally promises to pass specific legislation to remedy social ills, there are other portions that make compelling arguments for the need for change yet fail to offer specific steps that the Democrats will take to actually make those changes.

Moreover, while the platform has much that might appeal to progressives, it also has much that will make them cringe--particularly in the area of foreign policy. On Iraq, the platform says that the Party's main goal is "ending the war in Iraq", however, its platform makes it clear that the war will not end:

"We will re-center American foreign policy by responsibly redeploying our combat forces from Iraq and refocusing them on urgent missions. We will give our military a new mission: ending this war and giving Iraq back to its people. We will be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. We can safely remove our combat brigades at the pace of one to two per month and expect to complete redeployment within 16 months. After this redeployment, we will keep a residual force in Iraq to perform specific missions: targeting terrorists; protecting our embassy and civil personnel; and advising and supporting Iraq's Security Forces, provided the Iraqis make political progress."

The platform says that unlike Iraq, the "central front in the war on terror" is in Afghanistan and that the US will "win in Afghanistan" by expanding their numbers and operations.

To maintain the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the platform pledges to increase the size of the military by improving recruiting and retention. The platform does not mention any specific problems with military recruiting aside from the military's reliance on "stop-loss" provisions. There is no mention of racism, classism, or deception in military recruiting.

The platform also pledges continued financial support for Israel, specifically its military:

"For more than three decades, Israelis, Palestinians, Arab leaders, and the rest of the world have looked to America to lead the effort to build the road to a secure and lasting peace. Our starting point must always be our special relationship with Israel, grounded in shared interests and shared values, and a clear, strong, fundamental commitment to the security of Israel, our strongest ally in the region and its only established democracy. That commitment, which requires us to ensure that Israel retains a qualitative edge for its national security and its right to self-defense, is all the more important as we contend with growing threats in the region-a strengthened Iran, a chaotic Iraq, the resurgence of al Qaeda, the reinvigoration of Hamas and Hezbollah. We support the implementation of the memorandum of understanding that pledges $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade to enhance and ensure its security."

However, it is not just foreign policy where the platform will disappoint many. On a variety of so-called "domestic" issues, the platform falls short. For example, on healthcare, it never speaks of truly free and universal healthcare. On immigration, the platform says that there is a need for "comprehensive reform," but that involves having all undocumented immigrants register, pay a fine, pay taxes, learn English, and reapply to become citizens. The platform is also weak on civil rights and LGBT issues and offers little to help oppressed communities within the United States.

To be sure, the Democratic Party platform will never be enacted as a whole, but it does offer an important snapshot of where the Party is politically. Moreover, in a country where the corporate media reduces politic messages down to a few key phrases and issues, the 54-page platform offers a level of detail that is rarely seen in the media.