Boredom and the Race Between Obama and Clinton

A colleague of mine... not an Obama fan... is ruffled at a New York Times report by two Obama staffers that the senator from Illinois, who holds an almost insurmountable lead in the race for the Democratic nomination, is " bored with the campaign against Mrs. Clinton and eager to move into the general election against Senator John McCain."

With all due respect to my esteemed colleague, here's my reaction to Sen. Obama being less than enthralled by the present, last-gasp state of the race between he and Sen. Clinton: Thank God!

At long last! A candidate not addicted to the flattery and applause on the campaign stump. A candidate who doesn't thrive on the thrust and mean-spirited parry between candidates. A candidate more interested in moving on and addressing the nation's business, than wasting time mired in stale squabbles and the same old non-issues and dead end discussions.

Barack Obama isn't alone in his touch of boredom with this endless 16-month, 21-debate campaign. After all, it's not like anyone's bothering to analyze actual issues anymore.

For one, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos of ABC News are so bored with this race, that at the so-called debate they bungled on April 16, 2008, they filled more than 60 minutes before they asked an issue-related question. Wrote Tom Shales, the respected TV critic for the Washington Post:

"For the first 52 minutes of the two-hour, commercial-crammed show, Gibson and Stephanopoulos dwelled entirely on specious and gossipy trivia that already has been hashed and rehashed, in the hope of getting the candidates to claw at one another over disputes that are no longer news."

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), the third highest ranking House member and the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, seems bored with this race. He's angry, too. And Clyburn is particularly concerned that this drag on the Democratic party campaign is boring potential voters. Reported CNN:

"Clyburn said he's already noticing diminishing enthusiasm among younger voters, citing a difference in a visit to a college campus in January and a recent one.

" 'We have young people -- African-Americans that are as enthusiastic about this party as they've been in the last 40 years, and we cannot tamp down that enthusiasm or we will not be successful in November if we do,' he said."

DNC Party Chair Howard Dean isn't so much bored as aggravated and ready to move this race forward for the benefit of the Democratic party as a whole. Repeatedly in the last week, Dean has urged of superdelegates:

"I need them to say who they’re for starting now. We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time. We’ve got to know who our nominee is."

Let's be honest. There's plenty to be bored with, and more than a tad irritated by, including:

• Politically correct over-attention given to Bill and Hillary which would never be accorded to Obama if he was in 2nd place and facing an almost insurmountable Clinton lead.

• The constant favorable moving of the goalposts for what it will take for Hillary to win the nomination. (How often HAS that changed since Super Tuesday?)

• Transparently inaccurate polls by pollsters who never get it right. (And the media reporting them like gospel truth.)

• Non-stop media focus on trivialities and gossip.

• Media personalities such as MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell who continually fawn over Hillary Clinton.

• Bill Clinton's campaign trail meltdowns, complete with wagging finger, red-faced rants and nonsensical self-pity.

• The race card, the gender care and the religion/pastor card.

• Scare tactics, fear mongering, trash-talking, robo-calls against fellow Democratics, and stupid 3 A.M. ads.

It's enough aggravation and negativity to drive a Democrat crazy. Or in self-preservation, to become bored and tune-out.

I would be greatly concerned if both our two remaining candidates were enjoying this cynical, narcissistic stumble down the last lap of the Democratic race.

Because that would mean that we wouldn't have at least one candidate with good common sense, and a driving desire to get on with the business of the American people.

Be bored, Sen. Obama. Please be bored with this sad state of the Democratic race.

(Photo taken on April 26, 2008: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Related Reading

• Profile of Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina
• CNN, April 25, 2008: Prominent black lawmaker scolds Bill Clinton
• New York Times, April 28, 2008: Eyes on Blue-Collar Voters, Obama Shifts Style