22 Hours And Counting...

It's the countdown to the showdown between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And we'll be glad when it's over, no matter what happens. Obama identified this period of the manic '08 race, as "silly season". I don't know if 'silly' is the right word. 'Negative' is closer to it. 'Business as usual' nails it.

And it starts with Hillary going negative to keep her hopes alive in Texas and Ohio. To her credit, she has dragged this whole campaign down to earth (where she's most comfortable), in a fair way. Obviously, it's a buzz-kill telling the Senior Committee that the Prom King has warts on his back, but that's the only strategy she has left: let's make this all less fun and deal with reality. We've seen a 'red phone' ad, questioning Obama on his Commander-in-Chief reliability; we've seen the press respond to the Clinton's whining about unfavorable treatment with some Obama dumpster diving; and from all reports, Bill Clinton has been terrific on the stump.

But what still amazes is the continuing drama of the Clinton campaign. My sense is that she has done a good job refocusing the race to her strengths. I have a feeling that she may do better than expected in Ohio and Texas. But then a front page story surfaces about infighting in her campaign. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-clintoncamp3mar03,0,5417931.story
Where does this come from? Are there forces out there so inimical to the Clintons that they work to sabotage her at every turn? This is not the message any campaign wants on the eve of a last- stand slate of primaries.

On the recent scrutiny that Obama has attracted, a friend of mine said accurately, "When it was a torrid love affair, we didn't care about negative stuff, but now that we're actually thinking of walking down the aisle with him, a lot of us want to take a closer look." I love that. It is true that Obama has shifted his game. With fewer huge, adoring crowds and more town hall meetings he's trying to close the substance gap. I'm not sure that's wise. New and exciting is his brand, old style politics is Hillary's brand. And he's taking the shots. Memo's are surfacing that he's given a heads up to Canadian officials about his caustic Nafta comments. One Canadian aide wrote that Obama made it clear to them that this was just temprorary "political positioning", rather than serious policy discussion. Oops. Of course Obama's people said that the aide erroneously drew that conclusion. Whatever. All I know is, if you're going to slam Nafta for political gain in Ohio, I think it makes sense to send a wink wink, nudge, nudge to your largest trading partner. Is it pure? No. Is it politics? Unfortunately, yes.

And I'm sorry, I need to digress on Nafta. As a union guy I don't like Nafta. It allowed manufacturing jobs to flee to Mexico. If you want to know why Americans don't build things like computers and dishwashers and other appliances, take a stroll through Cuidad Juarez. That's where those jobs went. And Nafta sent them there. BUT...for either Hillary or Obama to say that renegotiating tougher climate and labor standards for Mexican workers will bring those jobs back, or prevent others from leaving, is pure fantasy. The answer is to either give monster tax breaks to companies who provide jobs here in America or to just scrap the agreement entirely. Stick huge tarriffs on goods that are imported here, even if built by our companies in Mexico. Of course, that imposes reciprocal tarriffs on our exports, which have a detrimental effect on some segments...yada yada yada. But let's drop this jive posturing on Nafta, until we're ready to have a serious discussion about it.

Anyway, the only guy having any fun out there is John McCain. He's been chillin' and grillin' at his Arizona ranch near Sedona. He also gave a wide ranging interview to the Wall Street Journal on his economic stances. Check it out. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120451614688707083.html?mod=hps_us_inside_today
He really is a piece of work. If you're trying to pin him down on straight orthodoxy of any kind, good luck. And this is part of his huge appeal. And then there are these reports, first from Chicago Trib's Jill Zuckman:
"McCain stood over not one, but two gas grills, cooking up ribs and chicken for his guests. McCain says he loves to grill because it's social and people can sit out on the deck, sipping wine and chatting with him as he does the cooking. 'I have so much nervous energy, it keeps me moving,' said McCain, dressed in jeans, running shoes, a sweatshirt and baseball cap as he used tongs to flip the ribs."
Ken Herman of the Austin American-Statesman: "McCain eschewed as premature any talk about barbecuing in the Rose Garden but did allow himself to joke about barbecuing for world leaders who might find their way here. 'We've been doing this for years,' he said."

I'm sorry, I always reserve the right to consider voting for a guy who takes grilling as seriously as he does.

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