With a Love So Hard and Filled With Defeat

Clinton had sounded like a traditional executive, as someone who gathers the experts, forges a policy, fights the opposition, bears the burdens of power, negotiates the deal and, in crisis, makes the decision at 3 o’clock in the morning.

But Obama sounded like a cross between a social activist and a flannel-shirted software C.E.O. — as a nonhierarchical, collaborative leader who can inspire autonomous individuals to cooperate for the sake of common concerns.

Clinton had sounded like Old Politics, but Obama created a vision of New Politics. And the past several months have revolved around the choice he framed there that night. Some people are enthralled by the New Politics, and we see their vapors every day. Others think it is a mirage and a delusion. There’s only one politics, and, tragically, it’s the old kind, filled with conflict and bad choices.

Hillary Clinton has fought on with amazing resilience since then, and Tuesday night may well bring another surprise, but she’s always been the moon to his sun. That night in November, he defined the campaign.

"A Defining Moment" by David Brooks in today's NY Times.

What's going to happen in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont, faithful readers of Running Down a Dream?

Any predictions, prognotistications, or views into the political crystal ball?

Here's my predictions:

For the GOP, I see McCain winning Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont, but narrowly losing out to Huckabee in the Lone Star State. That would not exactly be the vote of confidence that McCain needs heading into the fall against an re-invigorated Democratic party, but it seems to be a result that would reflect the fractured state of the Republican party at the moment.
For the Dems, I see Obama winning by a fairly comfortable margin in Texas, winning by a close margin in Vermont, but losing squeakers in Ohio and Rhode Island. That means Senator Clinton will almost certainly stick around through the summer, even as her margin for error continues to diminish.

Wait a second, while we're in the predicting mood, here's my thoughts on today's second-leg Round of 16 matchups in the Champions League:

• Arsenal-AC Milan: Despite the fact that midfield maestro Clarence Seedorf will likely miss the match for Milan, the return of Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, and Alessandro Nesta bodes very well for the defending champions. Milan will advance with a 2-1 victory at their home ground, the San Siro.
• Barcelona-Celtic: After winning 3-2 at Celtic Park a fortnight ago, Barcelona are the heavy favorites to advance in this tie. Even though Celtic will fight hard to withstand the Barcelona effort at the Nou Camp, the Scottish side simply do not have the ability to hold back weapons like Henry, Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, et. al. Barcelona advances with a rather comfortable 3-1 win.
• Manchester United-Lyon: Karim Benzema's 54th minute goal for Lyon in the first leg of this tie made things interesting, but Carlos Tevez's 87th minute equalizer put the Red Devils in prime position to advance to the Round of 8. Tonight at Old Trafford, I expect Man. U. to continue to push down on the accelerator and bring home a 2-0 victory. I don't like it one bit, but the Red Devils are going to be awfully difficult to stop this year.
• Fenerbahce-Sevilla: After capturing a 3-2 home win in Turkey, Fenerbahce heads into their match with Sevilla with a slight advantage, but the Spanish side always play well at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Despite a noble effort from Fenerbahce, I expect Sevilla to capture a 2-1 win at home to advance to the Round of 8.