Friends and Family

This may be my last blog from the States before I leave for the University of St. Andrews this coming weekend. I hope I’ll be back in the blog game early next week, after getting settled in Scotland.

I haven’t had a posting in a while because, although there’s been much sound and fury the last couple of weeks, not much has really changed on the Democratic presidential nominating front. Barack Obama continues to lead Hillary Clinton by a small but significant amount in the pledged delegate column. In fact, Obama’s lead, according to www.realclearpolitics.com, is actually greater (168 compared to 155) than it was before Clinton’s big wins in Texas and here in Ohio earlier this month.

With no contests until the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, each campaign has spent a lot of time and effort ripping the patriotism, loyalty, electability, and veracity of their opponent. Take, for example, the events of the last few days. Former President Clinton opined (I’m paraphrasing here) that it would be really good for the country if the presidential election could be between John McCain and Senator Clinton because both of them would be perceived as unquestionably patriotic, thereby allowing the race to focus on more substantive issues. This seemingly back-handed jab at Obama drew a vociferous response from his campaign. Former Air Force Chief of Staff Merrill McPeak, an Obama senior military advisor, likened Clinton’s remarks to the red-baiting antics of the 1950s demagogue Joe McCarthy.

But that’s not all. After New Mexico Governor (and former presidential candidate and Clinton administration official), Bill Richardson endorsed Obama late last week, Clinton surrogate James Carville swung into action. Writing in the New York Times on Easter weekend, Carville compared Richardson’s embrace of Obama to Judas’s betrayal of Jesus! Notice that none of this mud-slinging comes from the candidates themselves but rather from friends and family. Notice also (as mentioned in earlier blogs) that, because of the closeness of the race and the ideological similarity between Obama and Clinton, this type of stuff is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Meanwhile, John McCain and the Republicans wait patiently on the sidelines, cheering on the interminable Democratic Party civil war. And, blessedly, I’m heading to Scotland, where the incessant feuding can be viewed from a distance.