Dizzy with the prospects

Flu—phooey. I’m usually pretty good at kicking illnesses, which is a prerequisite before marrying a pediatrician, but the flu that’s going around now—a doozy! Couple that with a left ear that feels like it got depressurized at 20,000 feet, and I’m feeling just a little off-kilter at the moment.

What does that mean for you, the loyal reader, who’s continued to this point despite that dandy of a disclaimer? Well, you’re going to find either amazing insight or blazing inanity as I muse and you peruse …

• If the CN&R’s Iraq roundtable taught me anything, it’s that I’m glad I’m not running for president. Obama—OK, or Clinton or McCain—faces a no-win situation. I’m tempted to agree with the position that we should pull out and let the chips fall where they may. But that sort of unilateral action got us into this mess, and I don’t think we’ll be happy with the result if we take the “easy” way out.

• I think we need a phased withdrawal coupled with a phased adjustment in consumption. Pastor Steve Schibsted got it exactly right when he said we need to make sacrifices—and a president who will make that call for change in a way we’ll answer.

• Whoa, I’m harshing my own mellow, man. Hold on a sec … (Mmmm, menthol cough drop … feel the vapors …) OK, that’s better.

• How many Super Tuesdays does one election need? Obviously another, since Clinton won’t step aside until after the Pennsylvania primary April 22, and even then she’ll probably stick around unless Obama pulls off another Northeast comeback.

• Isn’t it funny how so many people lamented the early inevitability of the past few nominations, but now that we have a riveting campaign, there’s a craving for closure?

• McCain, meanwhile, has an easy ride to the Republican convention, though not a lot of company. Did you see the video of the near-empty Straight Talk Express? Hot-dog lunches in the White House or prostitution rings in Albany—for a reporter, it’s no contest.

• Speaking of the scandal: Eliot Spitzer is a superdelegate. Who knew that kryptonite cost $4,300 plus cab fare …

• Kinda makes the $400 haircut look like chump change, doesn’t it?

• I’m sticking with my revised prediction of Obama-Edwards. I think enough superdelegates will follow the popular vote, and I don’t see Obama tapping a bitter rival as his running mate. If I’m wrong (as if that ever happens … go Patriots!) and Clinton wins, she’ll ask Obama and he’ll fake-smilingly say yes.

• Who’ll McCain pick? Let me ask a colleague on the Straight Talk Express … OK, maybe not. How about … Joe Lieberman. He’s an independent, he’s experienced, and he’ll draw the Shalom TV vote. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, click “TV Entertainment” in Comcast On Demand.)

• I learned something startling from Shalom TV, something many Americans don’t know. Militants in Gaza have shot thousands of homemade rockets into the southern Israeli city S’derot. Google “S’derot” or “Sderot” for more details; the lesson I take from this sliver of Middle Eastern violence is that the region is too volatile and complex for simplistic solutions and Cold War thinking.

• Sorry, more mellow-harshing … time for another cough drop. Mmmm …