That Bunny...

(This piece is posted a day later than it might otherwise have been. I have the good fortune to be enjoying an unexpected visit from my son, who lives in Iowa and whom I have not seen in several years. I plan to spend as much time with him as possible while I have the chance.)

Following Tuesday's election results, it now seems that the indefatigable Hillary will keep running until her Energizer batteries expire. Who knows when that might be. You have to admire her energy. And so long as her determination does no harm to others, I say let her run--and to judge by the tenor of her "victory" speech after that narrow win in Indiana, it would seem that she may well intend to tone down her attacks on Obama. It also seems that, at this point, finally, the affair is settled. Run as she may, there's barely the remotest possibility that she could catch up, no matter how her people seek to move the goalposts.

I think it worth noting the dignity and restraint with which Obama, first, responded to the attacks that sought to bring him down over the past few weeks. He was able to absorb the punches Hillary and her gang delivered without responding in kind. He refused, generally politely but with firm insistence, to jump on the idiotic gas tax bandwagon, even at the risk of sacrificing votes. And his own victory speech in North Carolina eschewed any temptation to crow in favor of a return to the soaring rhetoric that earned him his following in the first place. Good to do that, now that he has established his credentials on the where's-the-beef front. As for those to accuse him of political naivete, I think that the history of his campaign is evidence enough of political competence.

To prevail, as he has done, with calm, consistent integrity to his own vision and with respect for the intelligence of the voters, is no mean achievement. No doubt the Republicans will find more mud to sling at him come the national campaign, but his performance to date suggests that it will be met with a similar ability to pursue his path unfazed by petty and irrelevant distractions. In this sense, Hillary has done him no small favor: she has given him every opportunity to show his strength and resilience under fire, and he has emerged from this battle victorious, and with his dignity intact. Good for him. May he continue to find the right way to speak to that vast majority of Americans who realize that their country has long been headed town the wrong path, and who seek to find a new and better one.