Dirt and Sweat

It's a lovely fall day here in Hindtit. I'm sitting in my favorite lawn chair staring at the fields across the road. The crops are all gone now, the ground stripped, a reminder of the winter desolation yet to come.

Winters in Hindtit can be brutal, similar to our current Presidential race.

With great anticipation I patiently awaited the first Democratic Party debate. Before continuing let me say that having more than six isn't necessary. There's a lot of disagreement amongst Democrats over this issue but in this modern era of social media and mass communication such venues as these joint news confererences posing as debates are not required. Some candidates want more, it is after all a cheap way to get your message out, if the moderator let's you.

Now to the meat. The CNN Democratic debate was actually quite good. Anderson Cooper was forceful and sharp, hitting each candidate equally hard. The ongoing debate about the debate is who won. Well here's who lost. Lincoln Chaffee gave one of the worst answers in debate history when answering the question about his yes vote for repealing Glass-Steagall (the post depression era law that seperated banks and controlled what they could and couldn't do) he stumbled, explaining he had just arrived in the Senate having been appointed to replace his late father. He basically said he didn't bother to read it he just did what the Republican leadership wanted, duh I don't know, thinkin is hard. To be fair Chaffee does seem to be an honest guy and his thirty year scandal free record of public service is lovely but a Presidential campaign it does not make. He is toast, but of course already was with some polls not even registering him as having a pulse.

Equally finished is the virtually non-existent campaign of Jim Webb. He came off more like a drill instructor than a Presidential candidate. In spite of his frequent complaints that he wasn't getting any questions or being allowed to chime in he failed to impress when he did. Which is unfortunate because Jim Webb is in fact an impressive human being. He has a long and distinguished career of public service to this country. He is also a damn fine writer which is why it's difficult to understand his lackluster performance. He too barely registers in the polls and is now saying he may run as an independent. That seems neither plausible or wise. If you cannot gain traction in a field of five candidates, how can you possibly gather the momentum necessary to organize and fund an independent bid?

In any other election at any other time Martin O'Malley might have gained serious support in the Democratic Party, but not this time. His job was to rise to the occasion and be an alternative. He fell short of the mark and was basically obliterated by Hillary Clinton's expression of gratitude for O'Malley's endorsement and full support in her 2008 campaign. The most he can hope for now is a cabinet position, if he's lucky.

So who won, Bernie or Hillary? I'm not convinced this matters in this particular election cycle. The pundits all say it was Hillary, the focus groups say Bernie. I say they both won. Hillary proved, yet again, that she can remain calm and commanding in stressful situations. She has a mastery of the issues and looked Presidential. Bernie, the wild card who has turned the race upside down, proved once again that his campaign is not a joke or a diversion. His momentum is real and his message is resonating. If he can convince enough non-voters to engage, he could be the nominee, but that is a big if and not one I would bet on.

That's all for now, Joe Biden's on the phone and wants my advice on whether or not he should run.