Another Tuesday

The political handicappers and pundits are busy this morning, crunching numbers on their laptops and Blackberries, checking in with ground troops in the Obama and Clinton campaigns, and readying the story that will be the Story in the news cycle for the next 48 hours or so.

Obama Triumphant or Hillary Down but Not Out!

Can Hillary come back from the brink? If she makes semi-decent showings in Ohio and Texas, will she remain in the race? If she tanks again, will she bow out gracefully and make the party "unity" speech?

Either way, it will be tough for Hillary. Until the Obama phenomenon exploded, Hillary was the presumptive Democratic nominee, the woman who was making history; all she had to do was avoid a major gaffe and make sure her husband kept his hands off female campaign volunteers. Hillary had big name campaign advisors and consultants, the political pedigree, and a wad of cash. What could possibly go wrong?

Obama-mania. Oprah.

On the stump, Hillary speaks of her experience, her judgment, and her intimate knowledge of the way the White House works; she knows how to get a club sandwich from the kitchen staff at 2:30 a.m., the best places to hide Easter eggs and where the Christmas decorations are stored. She’s ready to move in, clean out every last vestige of Bush and Cheney, and begin another chapter in the history books.

Hillary wants the public to like her, but many of us can’t because we remember the Clinton years differently than she does. Too much NAFTA, too much cozying up to corporate interests, too many hints of scandal from all the people the Clintons fucked over and abandoned on their way to power.

At this point in the campaign, I couldn’t tell you what Barack Obama stands for, whether he’s more of the same or if he has my – and people like me – economic interests at heart. Barack is all gauzy poetry right now, juxtaposed against Hillary’s wonkishness; Barack comes alive on the stump while Hillary turns wooden; Barack dances, jabs and ducks, Hillary stands toe-to-toe, prepared for a slugfest.

But when is Barack going to start identifying the ideology that underlies the failed policies Conservatives have foisted on the country since Reagan? When is he going to offer a different narrative of the way things can be? “Change We Can Believe In” is a catchy slogan, but what the fuck does it mean for citizens who are terrorized and shell-shocked – not by religious nutjobs from Iran or Pakistan or Saudi Arabia – but from domestic economic policies – American policies -- that have denuded the middle-class and created a devastating gulf between the rich and everyone else? When is Barack going to speak out on the corporate fantasy-land that America has become? When is he going to tie the futility of the Iraq Occupation to our economic woes?

Maybe never, who knows? If Barack winds up as the Democratic nominee, he’ll have to find a message that resonates with Independents and even moderate Republicans, which means he’ll move away from fundamental questions and toward the soft, compromising middle.

Over in the GOP camp, McCain’s handlers are honing their man’s message, which at this point comes down to a few key phrases: no new taxes, ever; al Qaeda operatives are hiding under every rock and they hate America; God must be mentioned frequently; and for good measure, just so McCain doesn’t forget under pressure, the handlers repeat these magic words: tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts.

This circus will be over, eventually.