On enemies, friends, religion, normalcy, the 43 percent, etc.

Who's first? But of course: A Quinnipiac University poll finds 43 percent of Democrats nationwide saying they want their 2004 presidential nominee to be ... Hillary Clinton.

From three fronts in Your Friendly Federal Government: (1) Congressional Republicans have formulated a prescription-drug compromise for those on Medicare, and Democrats tried to kill it because in certain areas it will put Medicare in competition with private insurance plans. They want the taxpayers to bear the full load of this projected burden, too.

(2) On taxes, the White House is drawing up proposals (a) to lift the income caps for participation in Roth IRAs, and (b) to raise from $3,000 to $15,000 the maximum annual amount stashable in a Roth.

(3) On judges, the Republican Senate majority sought to break the minority hold on key nominees to the federal bench. The refusal of the Democrats to allow floor votes on those nominees ranks high among the most unconscionable things the Democratic left has done.

So heavy is America (two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese), and with so many trying to lose weight (half of men and two-thirds of women, who thereby fuel the $37-billion annual weight-loss industry), lofty thinkers are weighing in. According to one news report: "The rising number of Americans who are seriously overweight has triggered intense debate among scientists, advocacy groups, federal agencies, insurance companies and drug makers about whether obesity should be declared a 'disease.' "

Well, it could be. Yet declaring obesity a disease also could be yet another slip down the "no-fault" slope of irresponsibility. First they relabeled getting hooked on drinking too much of the wrong things (alcoholism) a disease; now they're likely to re-label eating too much of the wrong things. Oh, and people smoke because they are victims of tobacco-company plots, or something. Key denominations are repealing the notion of sin. Why not have American society just accept obesity - along with everything else people can't stop themselves from doing - as normal?