Ohio, Texas...tired!

[Before I address tonight's primary debacle, can I just say whoa? I've been blogging at DiaryLand since 2000, and while no one would mistake it for 2.0, and while I do occasionally consider decamping to WordPress or MoveableType, it's usually suited my needs.]

[DiaryLand, though, has never changed. Oh, the guy behind it, Andrew, has added features from time to time, but the basic layout of the site has looked exactly the same for eight years. An eternity, in other words. It's been kind of a comfort in such a rapidly changing milieu.]

[Tonight, however, after a pleasant evening in North Beach celebrating the Angry Young Man's birthday with his friend Sister-Woman (House of Nanking followed by pastries at Caffe Greco on Columbus followed by an emergency trip to the Church Street Safeway), I got home to the news that Hillary Clinton had won the Texas and Ohio primaries. I thought, "I haven't blogged about anything substantial for a while; why not actually address politics here again?"]

[I left Obamaniacs Chris and Elisabeth bewildered and depressed in the kitchen, went to my room, got online, read Andrew Sullivan's meltdown, and went to DiaryLand. What greeted me? Black background! White, non-curlicue font! No more Easter-egg colors or crudely drawn cartoon creatures! Functions down the right side instead of the left? What?!]

[It will be deeply weird after all these years of sky blue, orange, and yellow to greet this new moderne style every day I choose to blog. This is much more disconcerting than the truly surprising Clinton victories tonight, but we must soldier on...]

[OK, so I think people need to take a deep breath about the Democratic primary. Ever since he won Iowa, I've had little doubt that Barack Obama would win the nomination and eventually the presidency. Even after Sen. Clinton came back in New Hampshire, even after Super Tuesday, even after tonight, I think he will get it. (This analysis at Americablog is just one of several that have convinced me.) And I couldn't be more thrilled. I voted for Clinton in the California primary because I think she's brilliant, diligent, and still the most qualified candidate I've ever seen. Also, I deeply wanted to be able to vote for a woman for president, finally. But as I've said time and again, I'll be happy to vote for Obama in November if (as I believe) he's the one up against ol' John McCain.]

[As we walked home from tonight's revels, Chris noted that a friend of his in Germany is rooting for Clinton because, as a German, he distrusts messianic political figures. I'm not thrilled by them either. I hate the air of mindless ecstasy that seems to characterize so much of Obama support. This is the kind of foolish zeal that swept Ronald Reagan into office. It's distasteful, and it's also dangerous: as the 2006 congressional elections demonstrated once again, it's really foolish ever to hope for too much from any elected official. When hopes are too high, the inevitable backlash is really, really ugly.]

[But Obama isn't Reagan, never mind Hitler. The great thing about Barry is that he's brilliant, too, and not evil. What I worry about is that when President Obama fails to fulfill all the undifferentiated hope folks are laying on him, he'll go the way of Jimmy Carter, another unknown quantity brought in to clean up an ugly Republican mess. This could happen to Clinton, too, but at least she's a known quantity. While she may not be graceful under fire, you know she wouldn't be weak in the way that Carter was.]

[Never mind. I'll admit I was a little disappointed to hear of Clinton's victories tonight, because like most people, I am bone-tired of this race. I was ready for Obama to wrap it up. I find it interesting that people like Sullivan are attributing the results to the Clintons' underhandedness and evil methods. No thought that she might have worked hard and inspired voters; no thought that Obama might have tried harder, done better. The reason I kind of wish Obama had won tonight is because I'm sick of this particular ugly zero-sum game.]

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