A very interesting point is made by Jordon Cooper as he describes the current scenario working itself out between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama:

While I think Barack Obama will win the Democratic primary, Clinton(s) is showing the Republican how to beat him or at least draw some blood. and testing out the strategy that McCain will be able to use in the general election. The longer Clinton stays in the race the more blood she draws, she drains Obama’s money and time from focusing on John McCain who is hitting Barack Obama daily.

Not that I think McCain is a really strong candidate in the first place, but it’s going to be tough for Obama if he emerges in April or May (or June, July, or August) with all the battle scars of a rough primary season. Clinton has laid the groundwork for what might be an effective strategy to take down Obama. He might not have what it takes to punch back, especially if Clinton is able to open up cuts on issues like the whole, “Who do you want answering the phone at 3am?” question. I think McCain can make the case that HE is the best one to answer the phone.

But that general election is still a long ways away.

It’s rare to read a Mark Steyn column that doesn’t leave me laughing out loud. I had the fortune of sitting at a table with him and Hugh Hewitt (among others) about two years ago. The conversation turned to the presidential race. It was like sitting around listening to two masters practice their craft. Anyway, this column by Steyn does a great job capturing the struggle within the Democratic party … and it left me laughing:

The Democratic primary season seems to have dwindled down into a psycho remake of “Driving Miss Daisy.” The fading matriarch Mizz Hill’ry (Jessica Tandy) doesn’t want to give up the keys to the Democratic Party vehicle but the dignified black chauffeur Hokey (Morgan Freeman) insists it’ll be a much smoother ride with him in the driver’s seat. Yet, just as he thinks the old biddy’s resigned to a nomination as Best Supporting Actress, the backseat driver plunges her hat pin into his spine, wrests the wheel away and lurches across the median.

Regardless of what happens in November, it seems pretty clear that both political parties are in a time of transition. For the Democrats, it’s a question of whether the party moves in the direction of Barack Obama, whose promise of change and hope have attracted both Republicans and independents, or in the direction of Hillary Clinton — the veteran campaigner and consummate politician, well-versed in the art of the deal. The tension between these two directions is being played out almost weekly during this primary season in places like New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Ohio.

For the Republicans, a similar tension exists, but it’s not been nearly as explicit. John McCain’s quick emergence as the nominee squelched a lot of the intra-party squabbling that’s been so visible among Democrats. McCain has been assailed by many who have questioned his conservative credentials, but without a clear foil, McCain has had a more difficult time landing the kind of counter punches that typically help to define a candidate.

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