Las Vegas

Within seconds of last night’s “debate,” moderated by the cartoon character Wolff Blitzer, the deep thinkers CNN has for pundits, led by former Wall Street Journal editorial page columnist, former PBS bore (on the soporific Jim Lehrer show), former (Bill) Clinton advisor, and current Harvard (Kennedy School) “professor,” David Gergen, pronounced a victory of sorts for Hillary Clinton. It seems she got past the drivers’ license issue OK. Then, this morning, the paper of record praised her “assertive tone,” and noted especially her remark (full of pith) that Democrats (read John Edwards and Barack Obama) “should stop ‘throwing mud’ and adopting tactics ‘right out of the Republican playbook’.” Even Christopher Dodd seemed to agree.

Well, here’s a better instant comment: Democrats – not just the ones in Congress who play games with the Bush boy by throwing money at “the troops," but also the candidates should stop adopting strategies right out of the Republican agenda. John Edwards was a partial exception -- but only because he wants the interests of the poor and other victims of Republicrat feed-the-rich politics to receive mention. Dennis Kucinich was, as usual, a more thoroughgoing exception – because, on every “issue,” his position is far superior to his rivals. [To the viewers’ and listeners’ detriment, Mike Gravel was, again, excluded.] But, of course, in our “marketplace of ideas,” what matters is not what candidates say but how what they say is reported – and our opinion shapers, for now, seem to be falling into line behind the likes of David Gergen.

Time is running out. Were there anything to pray to, now would be the time to pray that something, anything, happens to remind Democratic voters of the evils of Clintonism, evils amply chronicled here in preceding entries. With only a tad of consciousness about that, the regime’s risible media flunkies would be swamped, and the prospect of a Clintonite restoration reversed. But, alas, prayer is of no avail: by not existing, the Living God, still doing “a heck of a job,” has left it up to us -- and it is looking increasingly like we’re not up to the task.