Unprecedented

We keep hearing this term over and over. "This election is unprecedented." The easy explanation is that it's unprecedented because a woman might win. It's unprecedented because a black might win. It's unprecedented because a minister might win. It's unprecedented because a former POW might win. It's unprecedented because a Mormon might win. It's unprecedented because a mayor might win.

It certainly wouldn't have been unprecedented if a former TV actor had won...and now we know a second one WON'T win. Fred Thompson has dropped out and chose not to endorse anyone. We have little to conclude as to where his supporters will go now, not that there were huge numbers out there to redistribute. The Thompson story will provide interesting fodder for the students of political science. What happened to the man who the right-wing base of the Republican party were screaming for? The moonbat wing of the party will conclude that he was done in by the mainstream media, who always accused him of being too lazy to win. But in the end, he was never able to fully connect with the electorate and now post-mortem stories are saying he was only really interested in the Veep spot. If so, few truly motivated contenders will want him as their running mate. Gotta have that "fire in the belly" to win.

The departure of Thompson may help John McCain's rivals in Florida as they try to establish themselves as the "more conservative" alternatives. Romney has picked up an important Thompson money person (not that the multi-millionaire really needs it), Huckabee has picked up a surprise endorsement from anti-open borders presidential dropout Duncan Hunter, and Rudy is hanging on for dear life with his "roll the dice on Florida/Super Tuesday" strategy.

Money is fast becoming the most sought after commodity on the campaign trail, and I don't mean because of the volatile stock market trading sessions of the last few weeks. Huckabee is reportedly short on cash, and Obama and Hillary are duking it out in "Cullyfoahniah" for the Hollywood money.

The Democratic battle is getting much uglier than people thought it could. Race and gender were supposed to be issues for the party's standard-bearer to beat the Republicans up with, not each other. Over and over and over again, it is one of the biggest issues between the Clinton and Obama supporters. But that is not the biggest issue that has surfaced between these two contenders. There is a question of whether the way the Clintons are tag-teaming Obama is "not presidential". This terminology was used by former Democrat Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle. Just the fact that such a prominent former Democrat leader would bring this up in the middle of a presidential primary is "unprecedented" in itself.

We are beginning to see a lot of columnists criticize the Clinton duo for their "joint" efforts and openly question whether Bill Clinton is simply campaigning for a third term We are talking about people like Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, Dana Milbank of the Washington Post and others who usually make a living off of bludgeoning President Bush. No one is surprised when these kinds of comments come from the conservative spectrum of punditry, but if you add in the foreign journalists, the ones mentioned as looking forward to a return of Clinton power to restore America's image, one has to wonder what is truly going on here. Finally, when The Onion gets into the act, you know it is in the mainstream thought...or else it wouldn't be funny. Humor has a way of seeking out those secret suspicions in the public consciousness.

Obama knows that the Super Delegate aspect of the Democratic Party nomination process and the loading of the Super Tuesday states with the old Clinton campaign structure makes it unlikely that he will win the nomination this year. He's looking ahead 4 to 8 years. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't need to show his supporters that he knows how to fight back against the kind of political street fighting that is going on now. Right now, he is fighting the Clintons...in future campaigns, he will need to be fighting Republicans. So, he has to carefully go after the Clintons with his subordinates, and keep his cleaner image of one who is determined to stay above the fray. It may be hard to keep himself "mud-free", but he's trying.

Meanwhile, there are other issues in the world. North Korea remains insane, Iran remains dangerous, and the economy is perceived as being on the edge of recession by the haughty internationalists. Political correctness continues to inflict a Europe who fears enraging an ever-growing Muslim minority in it's midst. All of this will be on the plate for the next "leader of the free world."

The question remains: is this cast up to it?

Coach

Edit: In a stunning echo of what I have written about the Democrat race, Matt Drudge's website, where almost every newsreporter almost universally turns to find out what is the "hot topic" in the news, is flooded with articles on the continuing strife between Obama and the Clintons. Take your pick of reading here, here, here, here, here, and a major liberal talk show host rips into President Clinton for this in this video. Michelle Obama gets into it here. Unbelievable.