In like a lamb...

I remember that old saw about the month of March when I was growing up...if March comes in like a lamb, it goes out like a lion.

I seem to remember the beginning of March being pretty fierce but there is no question that it has gotten more strident as the month has gone on. The chairman of the Democrat Party, Howard Dean, is trying to force a quicker end to the contest by directing that he would like superdelegates to make their commitment to a candidate by July 1 so that the choice is clear before the delegates arrive in Denver. Hillary Clinton promptly replied that she is in this for the long haul.

Meanwhile, some of her colleagues are getting vocal in demanding that she withdraw. This is on top of her embarrassing Bosnia memory lapse. The latest Gallup poll would seem to indicate that this is a huge setback to her chances just when she was beginning to see some momentum in her direction in Pennsylvania.

John McCain has taken the opportunity to give policy speeches on Iraq, foreign policy, and the credit crunch. While the Democrats throw mud and make faux pas ("sniper fire" and "typical white person"), McCain has been successfully playing the "adult" in the contest and the polling data is moving in his favor.

American election history is full of candidates who were far ahead in the spring and defeated handily in November (can you say "Michael Dukakis?"). But it bears repeating that McCain has been here before and neither of the two other candidates have been through the kind of political melee that is the meat grinder we call a US presidential election.

The nominee who comes out of Denver is likely to be well "tenderized" by the loser when he/she faces a senator with 25 years of political experience in the Senate.

Remember that also when the media tells you how much more money the two Democrat candidates have raised. How much will they have spent before they earn the party's nomination?

Coach