When this year started, I figured the Democratic Party had a really good thing going. There were low polling numbers for the Republicans and we had some really good candidates running. As the primaries and caucuses worked their way down the schedule, Hillery and Barack both broke out and I still felt good. At that time either of the two would be good enough for me…

Then we got to South Carolina and Bill decided to speak his mind. Now don’t get me wrong I was and am a big fan of Bill Clinton. I can sit and listen to the man talk about policy issues for hours and be impressed with the depth of his knowledge. But he crossed a line in South Carolina for me. I don’t know that it was the words themselves or just the  meaning implicit in the way he made his comments, but at that point I began to question the Clinton campaigns tactics.

Since that time it has been one thing after another…I never thought I would see a Democrat  run a Rovian campaign against another Democrat. I have never liked it when the Republicans did it and I like it even less when a Democrat does it. Believe me when I say I’ve had a lot of experience with Rovian campaigns, I had to sit through the GW’s race for the Governorship of Texas and it had the same feel as Hillery’s of the last few months.

Now we have Senator Clinton offering the VP slot to the leader in the race. It almost makes you question her judgment, if you actually believed the offer, that is.

Ticket-Sharing Talk Dominates Day’s Campaign Activity – washingtonpost.com
COLUMBUS, Miss., March 10 — Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama hardly sounded like potential running mates Monday, with Obama accusing his rival of “gamesmanship” and the campaigns sparring over who is more qualified to be commander in chief.

A day before the Mississippi primary, which Obama is favored to win, he rejected Clinton’s idea that he become the vice presidential nominee on a ticket her husband described last week as “an almost unstoppable force.” The senator from Illinois said the Clintons’ talk was designed to disguise his lead in the nomination fight and convince fence-sitters that they could vote for Clinton and get Obama, too.”First of all, with all due respect, I’ve won twice as many states as Senator Clinton,” Obama said to cheers here. “I’ve won more of the popular vote than Senator Clinton. I have more delegates than Senator Clinton. So, I don’t know how somebody who’s in second place is offering the vice presidency to somebody who’s in first place.”

Obama also said, with evident delight, that the Clintons’ notion undermines their central challenge to his candidacy — that he is not prepared to be president.

“I don’t understand,” Obama told the crowd at the Mississippi University for Women. “If I’m not ready, how is it you think I would be such a great vice president?”

I agree it’s all gamesmanship, and I am happy that Senator Obama doesn’t seem to want to play.  The talking heads seem to think it’s time for him to climb into the mud pit and play the Clintons game…I disagree. I think the high road is exactly what is called for, now and in November.
So it looks like I’m back to following politics a bit closer than I have been for the past couple of years.  And in case anyone wonders…I am backing Barack Obama for the Democratic nominee.

Obama finished in Columbus with a reference to the Clintons’ suggestion of the vice presidency.

“This kind of gamesmanship is exactly the kind of doublespeak, double talk, that Washington is very good at, that people who spend a lot of time in Washington have a lot of experience at,” Obama said. “But it’s not going to solve the problems of the country.”