A Good Night in South Carolina

Let's just ignore New Hampshire and Nevada, shall we?

Last night in South Carolina, Barack Obama pulled ahead in the race for delegates. He won by more than a 2-1 margin. There will be much said about the divisions of the electorate by race, but 1 in 4 total isn't so bad, and his percentage among white males was quite high. Anyway, he won, and that's what matters.

Tsunami Tuesday will be very interesting.

But what about Bill? As far as Hillary's candidacy is concerned, I can't imagine that this last two weeks of venom and half-truths won't have a negative effect. They are both getting shredded in the press for the attack dog posture and win at all costs execution, and the public has to have noticed as well. As Maureen Dowd said this morning on Meet the Press, and I paraphrase, the only way the Clintons can win is to beat down Obama's message of hope, and that won't play well in the long run.

And the racial code words and off the cuff dissing of Obama looks mean and petty. A kid? You don't call a grown man and senator a kid. Saying that, well, Jesse Jackson won here in 84 and 88, so this means nothing? WTF Bill? Whatever race he's involved in right now, Obama in many ways is the future of the Democratic party, and to tear him down and belittle him and outright disrespect him this way is not smart or productive.

Really, this pulls the glow off the memories of the Clinton years and reminds me of just how frustratingly contradictory, self-interested, and sleazy they could be. It's too bad. But it's good to see that Obama can not only weather it but work through it and win.