There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball. The only problem - once baseball season starts, I change the order around a bit.
-Al Gallagher

I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors, fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism. Tend to relieve us from being a nervous, dyspeptic set. Repair these losses, and be a blessing to us.
-Walt Whitman

What is both surprising and delightful is that spectators are allowed, and even expected, to join in the vocal part of the game.... There is no reason why the field should not try to put the batsman off his stroke at the critical moment by neatly timed disparagements of his wife's fidelity and his mother's respectability.
-George Bernard Shaw

The regular season is upon us - and it came in with a bang, with Ryan Zimmerman christening the new Nationals Park with a walk-off homer after a blown save. Today, the rest of the league starts. I'd originally meant to make this a practical post about the Cubs' prospects this year, but as you'll see, it turned into something a bit more... unorthodox.

There's something great about Opening Day, and it's not just the tired old yarns about every team having the same record, or the glories of spring, or the Orioles having another week before being mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. It's that we know that this is the beginning of a long, drawn out, frustrating, exhilarating, breathtaking process, the season that was and is and will be.

Baseball is curiously like the liturgy in many ways. There's a lot of standing up and sitting down; there are hymns ("The Star-Spangled Banner" at the beginning of the game, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" in orthodox parks during the seventh-inning stretch) and responses (everyone knows what to do when the bugle call plays... "Charge!"). For those who can afford the unfathomable expense, there is the Hot Dog of Life and the Beer (or Coke) of Salvation, along with the ubiquitous peanuts and cracker jacks.

But the most significant way baseball is like the liturgy is in the communion of the saints. When we in the Christian tradition celebrate the full liturgy by partaking in the Eucharist, we believe we are connected not only with Christ but with the saints throughout the history of Christianity. In a similar way, even at the newest of new ballparks or the sandiest of sandlots, when we watch or play baseball, we're connected in what I think is a mysterious and cosmic way not only with the great players of the past - Willie Mays, Three-Finger Brown, Satchel Paige, Joe DiMaggio - but with everyone who's ever sat in the grandstands, with our fathers and our fathers' fathers who would take them to games, tell them what a balk is, cheer at the home runs, marvel at a pitchers' duel.

Maybe this is a guy thing, I don't know. But there's something real, something spiritual about the game of baseball that quite simply doesn't exist for other sports as far as I know. There's something contemplative and deep and profound about the symmetry of the infield and the unpredictability of the outfield, about the men who go to work playing a child's game, about the moment well-savored, the situation well-appreciated, the bases-loaded jam, the ninth-inning rally, the walk-off home run.

But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first. -Matthew 19:30

Baseball is a game of contrasts. Someone goes down with a career-ending injury, and a rookie steps up in his place in a big way. A team everyone expected to win chokes in the final weeks, and a team everyone expected to be in the gutter is in contention. One rookie brought in as roster filling will come up and spark his team, and another one who everyone expected to be the next Willie Mays will struggle to make the Mendoza Line. The first do become last, and the last do become first, unless they're the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who pretty dependably become last every year.

So this is it. Year 100. I say this every year, but I think this year is next year. I dare to dream, because I have no other choice in the matter; it's been 100 years, and it's about time. The last will become first.

Go Cubbies.

Quotations shamelessly yoinked from the Quote Garden, which is like the Olive Garden but with better food.

Labels: Baseball, Chicago Cubs, Religion

With the exception of that little dalliance in Japan, baseball starts in 3-1/2 hours or so, right here in Washington at the Nationals' new ballpark. I really wish I was able to go to the game tonight, despite the worst president of my lifetime throwing out the first pitch, because it would be cool to be at a historic baseball event. Hopefully I'll make it out there when the Nats return home next Wednesday. Regardless, from what I've seen and heard, they've done Nationals Park right; it's not a concrete ugliness like the Cell in Chicago or RFK here in DC, but one of those places like Petco in San Diego or the Great American Launchpad in the 'Natti - built not to be a great place for three different sports, but to be a great ballpark.

I'm going to give a little more preview of the season tomorrow, when the Cubs might be able to dodge the raindrops and open the season at Wrigley, but for now, my yearly dragging-out of an old quote from the late, great Bartlett Giamatti:

It [baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.

Play ball! Go Cubbies!

Labels: Baseball, Chicago Cubs

Well. Here we are on the second-to-last day of March and the primary race is still happening. I can honestly say that I didn't expect it to last this long; I thought one candidate or the other would get a knockout blow in one of the early races, or on Superdupertuesday, or in the Potomacs, or on March 4. But the tenacity of Hillary Clinton in staying in this race long after Barack Obama, were he in Clinton's position, would have faced a tsunami of demands to drop out, is impressive.

Unfortunately, much as I loathe the contemporary practice of psychoanalyzing political figures, this race really does come down to exactly why Hillary Clinton is still in the race and what her motivations are. Now, I'm not going to join the growing chorus of people who are saying she should drop out, but in all honesty, I think that if she doesn't absolutely clean up in Pennsylvania, winning by more than 20%, she should seriously consider it.

So why is Hillary Clinton still in this? Let's go through the possibilities.

• She thinks she can still win a contested nomination. She's indicated that she wants to take this all the way to Denver where she'll challenge the DNC not seating the illegitimate Florida and Michigan delegates. Now, there's an extent to which every candidate says that they're in it all the way - Edwards said this after South Carolina before promptly dropping out - but for the moment, we should take her at her word. The problem is that for her to win the nomination would require her to convince the superdelegates to overturn the pledged delegate count and likely the popular vote as well - which would split the party in two and probably lead to her defeat in November. End result: Hillary Clinton still isn't President. And she's a smart enough politician to realize this.


• She wants a deal. It's not without precedent that a primary opponent get something out of the eventual winner; the most famous of these might be Earl Warren who threw his support to Ike in 1952 and was nominated to be Chief Justice. This drawn-out primary fight might be Hillary Clinton's way of getting leverage for another job - perhaps the next vacant slot on the Supreme Court, perhaps governor of New York, perhaps Senate Majority Leader. Of all the options, I like this one the most; as long as she isn't undermining President Obama's legislative agenda, she could be a major long-term force in progressive politics. Much as I may loathe her from time to time, I really do think she could be a really effective legislative, judicial, or executive powerhouse for years - or decades - to come.


• She's going out gracefully. Just one more win in Pennsylvania to make her supporters and fundraisers feel like she isn't being chased out of the race and she'll quit. This doesn't hold water for me, though, mostly because of the complete lack of grace she's demonstrated even over the past few weeks. Her husband's veiled attack on Obama's patriotism, her own attempt to resuscitate the Wright kerfluffle, and reports of Rove-esque attempts to disenfranchise en masse Obama-supporting delegates in Texas make it clear that going out gracefully doesn't seem to be in the cards.


• She's waiting for Obama to self-destruct. Over and over, the Clinton campaign insinuated to anyone who would listen that Obama wasn't "vetted"; my guess is that the "vetting" of which they spoke was the Wright flap, which Barack handled with the greatest of aplomb and dexterity. Or maybe they've got something else up their sleeve. Or maybe they're just waiting for him to slip up and say something damningly stupid - which would be very uncharacteristic of him. Either way, this is a longshot, and doesn't seem to be happening for the same reason the "going out gracefully" tactic doesn't seem to be happening - the Clinton campaign is attacking all over the place, and the last thing the Clintons would want would be to be blamed for an Obama self-destruction.


• This is really, really personal. Of all the possible options, this is the one that scares me the most. It's no secret that Hillary Clinton has wanted to be president for a long time, nor is it any secret that she'll probably be too old to run in 2016, current geriatric candidates notwithstanding. This was supposed to be her turn; the establishment was on her side and set up February 5 to be her knockout blow. But along comes this upstart junior Senator with a lot of hope, an amazing organization, an inspiring candidacy, and the skill to take advantage of her campaign's (unforced) errors and steps on her dream. If this has gotten personal for her - if she's as pissed at Barack Obama as many of her supporters on the blogs are - this is only going to get uglier. And if it gets too much uglier, especially if it becomes clearer (as it will) that Obama's going to be the nominee, she's going to be persona non grata in the Democratic Party.


• She's running for 2012. A month ago, I would have dismissed this offhand as tinfoil hat stuff, but now I'm not so sure. She and her husband have certainly been effusive in their praise for John McCain. Is it possible that she's trying to kneecap Barack so that he loses the general in 2008 and she can ride in on the gleaming white horse in 2012? At the moment, I'd still consider this a shaky possibility at best; not only is it likely that a conspiracy like this would come out sometime between 2008 and 2012, but I think that if she kneecaps Barack and he loses this year, she'll get the blame and we'll see a fresh face at the top of the ticket in 2012. But stranger things have happened...

So there it is. Your March 30, 2008 State of the Race report. Thoughts?

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Primary Election 2008

Labels: Baseball, Fun

...but I wanted to share this video.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Politics, Primary Election 2008

...so I must be brief, but as a proud Bearded-American, I have to say that seeing Bill Richardson sportin' some fine-looking chin hairs while endorsing Barack Obama (and you should really read his endorsement speech) gives me hope for the future of my people in politics. Perhaps I won't have to shave it off if I ever decide to run for office...

Labels: Barack Obama, Bearded-American Awareness, Bill Richardson, Politics, Primary Election 2008

I'm going to be out of commission for the next few days, as I'm buried in work and just had another thing added to my already-overloaded plate.

Labels: Personal

Wow. He turned what was an issue with him and his preacher into a discussion of racial politics and class in general. Race, class, segregation, attitudes - all these are on the table now. This is a masterful transcendence of the issue. Now we'll see if it does the job...

Labels: Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Politics, Primary Election 2008, Race

...by someone who's been on the other side of the pulpit for more than just the "Cubs Sermon." (Ask me about that sometime, by the way.)

Let Me Tell You Something About Preaching by Pastor Dan

Labels: Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Politics, Primary Election 2008, Race, Religion

Damn you rich! You already have your compensation.
Damn you who are well-fed! You will know hunger.
Damn you who laugh now! You will weep and grieve.
Damn you when everybody speaks well of you!
Luke 6:24-26, Scholars Version

For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment;
because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—
they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the afflicted out of the way;
father and son go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;
they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge;
and in the house of their God they drink wine bought with fines they imposed.
Amos 2:6-8, New Revised Standard Version

Don't let anybody make you think God chose America as his divine messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world. God has a way of standing before the nations with justice and it seems I can hear God saying to America 'you are too arrogant, and if you don't change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power, and I will place it in the hands of a nation that doesn't even know my name. Be still and know that I'm God. Men will beat their swords into plowshafts and their spears into pruning hooks, and nations shall not rise up against nations, neither shall they study war anymore.' I don't know about you, I ain't going to study war anymore.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Address to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 8/16/1967

Recent discussions of Rev. Wright and Barack Obama have made it quite apparent that the contemporary media has absolutely no understanding of the prophetic tradition. That Obama has rejected Wright's words - a political necessity given his chief opponent's amorality and willingness to distort or twist anything to assassinate his character - does not make their woeful negligence any more acceptable.

There is a long tradition in Judaism and Christianity of the prophet - of the one who speaks hard truths to a nation and is vilified for it, who says outrageous things and is (literally or symbolically) put to death by the society for calling out their sins. Kenneth Burke would describe this as a sort of communal mortification, the sacrifice of a scapegoat for the sine of the community in order to bring catharsis, redemption, and the repair of the breach. The prophet tells the community that they are doing wrong, tells them that God's punishment is on them for their sins, and is put to death in order to right them.

Though he has some details wrong, Wright certainly falls into this tradition. What is he calling America out for? Why is he proclaiming God's judgment on America? The same reason Amos, Dr. King, and Jesus did - we have allowed the rich to exploit all of humanity in pursuit of greed, we have made war on innocents for material ambition, and we have neglected the abject poverty and deep divisions in our own community as well as those around the world. From those to whom much is given, much is expected. Whether or not you agree with Dr. Wright's assessment of the situation - and certainly reasonable minds can differ on that - if you accept that he sees the world in this way, the Christian pastor has no choice but to prophetically call out the sin he/she sees. Dr. King felt this need; Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson felt this need; Rev. Wright feels this need. And now he is being symbolically put to death for the nation's transgressions, as even moderate political commentators are damning him for his words.

All this is to say that there is nothing Wright has said that is outside of the mainstream of historical orthodox Christian thought. Those who think otherwise have confused American Rightist nationalism with orthodox Christian theology. If you believe - as all Christians should - that God is truly above nations, that right and wrong transcend borders of patriotism or language or economic/political ideology, then there is nothing in Dr. Wright's words that is at all objectionable. Those Christians who are troubled by his words should interrogate themselves and their own theology first, before taking up stones to cast at Wright, the Black church, and the prophetic tradition.

Labels: Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Politics, Primary Election 2008, Race, Religion

Unfortunately, the media loves a controversy, and is all too willing to engage in some swiftboating and Cavuto-esque false speculation if it'll kick their ratings up a half-point - so this fake guilt-by-association controversy is likely to go on for a little while longer.

Labels: Barack Obama, Jeremiah Wright, Politics, Race, Religion

Bethany is in town, so I'm probably going to be posting light for the next few days, but I got this at the Ethiopian restaurant where we had dinner tonight and just had to be a dork and take a picture.

Labels: Beer, Fun

Geraldine Ferraro stepped down from the Clinton finance committee... about damn time.

Of course... she didn't do it quietly.

Dear Hillary –

I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign.

The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you.

I won't let that happen.

Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do to make this a better world for my children and grandchildren.

You have my deep admiration and respect.

Gerry

No, "Gerry," the Obama campaign is attacking you because you've apparently had some problems with nonwhite presidential contenders for a while now.

Let's just call this what it is: an attempt to appeal to working-class white voters who have been drummed up by the right wing into a fury of resentment against blacks because they think affirmative action is unfair. Your attempt to incite more racial tension when this party has been pretty good at keeping that crap out of the primary is nothing short of reprehensible. I sincerely hope your next public statement on this issue - if it happens at all - will be an apology for being so bigoted. But given the strident and defiant tone of your letter, I very much doubt that it will be, and that saddens me.

But in a way, you're right, Ms. Ferraro: If Barack Obama were a white man with his talents, he wouldn't be in a tight primary race for the Democratic nomination... he'd have been the presumptive nominee three weeks ago.

Labels: Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Primary Election 2008, Race

Anyone who didn't see that coming a mile away, please raise your hand so we can mock you mercilessly.

Of course, this lays bare a stark difference between Democrats and Republicans. When one of ours gets caught in illegal sex, he/she is drummed out not only by the opposing party but by our own. One of theirs? Not so much.

Labels: Eliot Spitzer, Politics

Labels: Cartoon, Fun

Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up [...] Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white. How's that?
-Geraldine Ferraro

So is Hillary Clinton going to reject and denounce her now? I mean, the Clinton campaign settled for some mild disagreement from a spokesman earlier; will they let Ferraro keep digging this hole, or do the right thing and let her go?

Labels: Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Primary Election 2008, Race

Remember the sleeping little girl? The one Hillary Clinton somehow keeps safe with all her vaunted foreign policy experience (including her bringing peace to Bosnia along with Sinbad and Sheryl Crow, and bringing peace to Northern Ireland by receiving a teapot)? The one who is presumably happy that someone who is Ready To Lead On Day One(tm), has Solutions For America(tm), and is In It To Win It(tm) is sleeping in the East Wing?

Turns out that little girl actually supports Obama.

Of course, so does Sinbad, Hillary Clinton's other chief negotiator. Perhaps she and Bill should have let him be a houseguest more often back when they lived at 1600 Pennsylvania...

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Primary Election 2008, Sinbad

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position [...] And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

Geraldine Ferraro, March 10, 2008

So when is Sen. Clinton going to ask Geraldine Ferraro, who is indeed one of her surrogates, to cut off ties with the campaign? When are we going to hear a chorus of calls for Sen. Clinton to "denounce and reject" Geraldine Ferraro?

Labels: Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton, Politics, Primary Election 2008, Race

We must face the fact that in America, the church is still the most segregated major institution in America. At 11:00 on Sunday morning when we stand and sing and Christ has no east or west, we stand at the most segregated hour in this nation.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Bethany and I had an interesting discussion yesterday about how this generally isn't just true of race, but of class as well. One of the most tragic casualties of the Protestant Reformation and the wave of schisms that followed it is that, particularly in the US, we no longer worship next to our neighbors. In the old Roman Catholic system, you lived in a parish, and though there were exceptions for the very rich, you generally worshipped next to people of all socioeconomic classes; you kneeled next to a butcher or a tailor or a banker. It was truly a catholic church experience. Today, we worship next to people who generally look like us, talk like us, and spend like us - and everyone knows which church is the "establishment" or "elite" church in their town, and which is the church for the working class.

This isn't to say that the establishment or elite churches don't try, or that they're uncharitable or don't care about the poor. If one talks to people in those churches, one understands that they care just as deeply about issues like the bad economy, world poverty, and war just as much as the people in the workers' church. They're just as worried about being laid off, just as worried about their kids' education, just as worried about the state of their community.

So why is it that the one thing we don't talk about in church is the thing Jesus talked about the most - money? I mean, sure, we'll talk about how to have a budget and how to make sure you set aside 10% and how to handle your money, but we don't talk about the broader picture - the haves and have-nots, and why our society is set up so that the have-nots generally tend to descend from other have-nots. We don't talk about class. And we still segregate by class - a de facto segregation that hurts the church's witness to the world.

The problem is that it isn't as easy as just inviting some poorer people into the establishment church. No matter how nice you are, no matter how welcoming you are, there's still a gulf there. I've seen this in person at several churches - the gulf of the underdressed.

I remember a wedding I went to in Athens with Bethany where I discovered this firsthand. My flight had just gotten in the day before, but in typical Delta Airlines fashion, my luggage had yet to make it - so I was stuck with what I'd worn on the plane. What I was wearing wasn't too informal - a button-down shirt and a nice-looking pair of khakis - but at this wedding, which was at Athens's "establishment" church and featured three-piece suits, I stuck out like a sore thumb. No matter how much people pretended not to notice, I knew I was other - so Bethany and I made a brief appearance at the reception and got out.

Now, this was just a wedding and I was a guest, so it wasn't too big a deal, but our churches are like this too. We as a society - and especially we in middle- or upper-middle-class churches - are far too blissfully unaware of the effect of conspicuous consumption on the subconscious (or conscious) mind of our churches. What does it look like to a man who can't afford a nice business suit when all the men are wearing them? What does it look like to a woman who has one or two nice outfits when all the women come in a new-looking dress every week?

I wonder what it would look like if the church not only stopped encouraging conspicuous consumption in dress, but started encouraging its members to be mindful of what the community's consumption patterns say to those who don't have as much. I'm not talking about the "come-as-you-are" fantasy, which just substitutes $75 Banana Republic jeans for $75 slacks, but about openly encouraging church members to come dressed inconspicuously so as to be more welcoming to working people.

I'd imagine it would get some people thinking about what it means that they can afford (and buy) $75 jeans while someone in their community is struggling to pay their bills. I'd imagine it would get some people to think about how their external communication of their socioeconomic status alienates them from the very people whose welfare Jesus seemed most concerned about. And I'd imagine it would get some people talking about what kind of influence the church could be - on culture, on government, on business - to make our world a more just place for haves and have-nots alike.

That could be the start of some very interesting conversations.

Labels: Christianity, Class, Religion

Two important things happened yesterday, despite being largely overlooked by the media:

1. Barack Obama won the Wyoming caucuses. Yeah, Wyoming's not a very populous state, but a win's a win - especially given that three Clintons (Hillary, Bill, and Chelsea) were crisscrossing the state all last week trying to drum up support, and given that the dominant narrative is still that Barack Obama can't win with white people (despite his having won the whitest state in the union, Maine.) It also lays bare the Clinton strategem: concentrate on the big states, virtually ignore the smaller ones. We saw that last month when the Clinton campaign was trying to make the whole story Ohio and Texas, ignoring the many states whose primaries and caucuses fell between Superdupertuesday, the Potomacs, and Mar 4, and we see it again as they, like an undergrad who didn't study for a test, try to cram at the last minute and get walloped badly. But that doesn't even compare to the second important thing that happened yesterday, which was...

2. Bill Foster won a special election for the Illinois 14th congressional district, the seat being resigned by Dennis Hastert. Why is this significant? Several reasons:

• It portends ugly times ahead for Republicans in the fall. Hastert was the Speaker of the House, and the Democrats are in the middle of a rather nasty primary campaign; that they could still best a Republican in a leaning-R swing district is indicative that the tide really is against Republicans this year, even Republicans who, like Jim Oberweis, aren't incumbents.
• It speaks to Barack Obama's coattails. Barack Obama took time out to cut an ad for Foster, and that is credited with helping propel him to victory. Sure, it's Illinois, where Barack Obama is only slightly less popular than Michael Jordan, but still it's a sign that Barack Obama really can get Democrats elected across the country. We saw it in 2006, where he crisscrossed the country raising funds and enthusiasm for Democrats, and we're seeing it again. That should make a strong case to superdelegates, particularly of the Congressional variety, that the train to a massive majority and progressive agenda is being operated by none other than Barack Obama.
• Finally, on a more direct primary-related note, Foster will be a superdelegate - and predictably, he's endorsed Barack Obama. Chalk one more up for the lanky Senator from Illinois.

So all in all, Saturday was good for the Democratic Party and good for Barack Obama.

Labels: Barack Obama, Bill Foster, Politics, Primary Election 2008

As most campaign junkies know, Samantha Power - one of the planet's leading experts on genocide, and foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama - resigned today in the wake of the furor caused by her offhandedly calling Hillary Clinton a "monster" in an interview with The Scotsman earlier this week. This was probably the right thing for her to do, given the circumstances; her description was ill-advised and rather impolitic, even if clearly only her opinion on the matter. Her resignation makes this a twelve-hour story rather than a one-week story, and there's no doubt that she's still going to have a foreign policy role in a hypothetical future Obama administration, which is a great thing.

Contrast this to Howard Wolfson, Clinton spokesman, who said in response to the Obama campaign's demand that the Clinton campaign release the Clintons' tax returns from 2000 to 2008:

"I for one do not believe that imitating Ken Starr is the way to win a Democratic primary election for president."

Not only does Wolfson remain with the Clinton campaign, he hasn't even apologized for comparing the Obama campaign with a standard request to one of the most partisan witch-hunters of the past generation. This was clearly not a statement of opinion (as Power's statement was) but an argumentative analogy. But there's very little media noise and no yammering talking head on CNN is demanding Wolfson resign or be fired.

And the Clinton campaign has the gall to suggest that her campaign is being treated unfairly by the media?

Labels: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Howard Wolfson, Media Bias, Politics, Primary Election 2008

The groundhog poked his head out of his hole, looked around, and saw his shadow. Six more weeks of primary season for the Democrats.

As an Obama supporter, I have to say that I was disappointed by last night's results - less so by the final numbers (though those were disappointing, particularly given that a win in TX or OH would have finished Sen. Clinton) than by what they portend: at least six more weeks of division and dirty politics.

In some ways, it's tempting to think that a drawn-out primary season could be good for Democrats. We get six more weeks of only Democrats in the news; John McCain's going to have to jump up and down and wave his arms to get noticed in this press environment. We get six more weeks of progressive ideals like universal health care, intelligent foreign policy, and an economy built to serve all Americans being taken as givens, rather than as philosophies to be challenged. We get six more weeks of our nominee - whoever it is - having his or her face, name, and words constantly in the eye of the public.

But not like this. The Clinton campaign in particular has demonstrated over the past week or so that they're more interested in winning than in building the Democratic brand or setting up a consensus for progressive ideals. They've gone personal time and time again, trying to make Rezko into something other than the non-story it is, subtly playing up the "Obama is a Muslim" lie, trying to "work the refs" by claiming that a press afraid to utter the name Marc Rich is somehow biased against them, and feigning outrage at supposedly-dishonest mailers. Six more weeks of this campaign only hurts the Democratic Party, progressivism, and our eventual nominee.

I think it's time for the party elders to step in and put an end to this. If they send a serious message to both campaigns to start campaigning honorably and stop campaigning like - well, like Republicans - the next six weeks could reap benefits for the party. But six more weeks of backbiting, sniping, and faux outrage will only hurt us in November.

Labels: Politics, Primary Election 2008