Obama and Clinton About To Do Penalty Kicks

The latest Slate Political Gabfest asked listeners for a good sports analogy for the current Democratic presidential primary.

My answer: the election is like the 1994 World Cup Final between Brazil and Italy. In that infamous match, both teams went scoreless in regulation play, and for the first time ever, the final was decided with a penalty kick “shootout”.

In the end, everyone felt unsatisfied that such a major event got decided by something that basically amounts to a practice drill.

I think the same feeling will spread through the Democratic party if this primary gets decided by superdelegates. Like Brazil and Italy, it appears that neither Obama or Clinton is able to deliver a true knockout blow. But without that knockout, this thing is destined to get decided in this unsatisfying manner that nobody wants.

Maybe it is time for Clinton to work on her head-butting skills?

Monday March 10, 2008