The long and winding road

The key word in this article about the latest jabs the Democratic candidates for president are taking at each other is that it’s been a “long” campaign.

New York Sen. Clinton and Illinois Sen. Obama traded barbs in Pennsylvania, whose April 22 vote is the next milepost in a long campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination to determine who will face McCain in the November election.

McCain’s talk about a long struggle is in reference to the war, an issue the Democratic candidates are using against him.

“It’s long and it’s hard and it’s tough. We are frustrated,” he said at a campaign event in Westport, Conn., adding the war had been mismanaged by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. “This new strategy is succeeding, although it’s very difficult,” McCain said.

It seems to be the word of the moment. Long.

Following up on day-long testimony by Gen. David Petraeus and Amb. Ryan Crocker, Clinton tried to shift the ‘08 campaign focus back to foreign policy from the economy and attempted to claim the mantle as the one ready to take on the heavy load.

Seemed like much more than a day – long. And that sentence is misleading by indicating that the ’08 campaign has actually been about foreign policy in the first place.

Though it continues to be whatever the issue of the day is, whatever works for a particular campaign. And the day-long testimony by Gen. Petraeus served as a platform for candidates to posture themselves, again, as the best choice. Especially Hillary Clinton.

“That’s the choice — one candidate will continue the war and keep troops in Iraq indefinitely, one candidate only says he will end the war and one candidate is ready, willing and able to end the war and to rebuild our military while honoring our soldiers and our veterans,” she continued. “A great Pennsylvanian, Benjamin Franklin, once said, ‘Well done is better than well-said’ … actions speak louder than words.”

Funny, this campaign has been all about words.

These three candidates are senators. Let’s see some action in the Senate, where the public approval rating (Congress in general) is a long way from acceptable.