The (Good?) Long Road

Though the article called “Clinton’s Persistence could help Obama" has rather little to do with Clinton's longevity and it's direct impact on Obama, Katharine Seelye takes a much needed step back from the minute-by-minute fluctuations of the Democratic primary race. Mired in the Rev. Wright muck for much of the last few weeks, it's been easy to lose sight of a contest whose landscape is rapidly changing for the better.

When the prospect of a protracted nomination fight first appeared, I wasn't convinced it was an inherently bad thing. While the GOP might be given time to coalesce around a candidate, there would be no opponent for them to be defined in opposition to and the news media would be far less interested in covering the elect than the yet-to-be elected.

Of course, the intra party squabble also ran the risks that were realities in early March. In the fight for daily tactical advantage, the end goal can fade from sight. While the Wright controversy will likely be seen as little more than a bump in the road, or perhaps even a fortuitous occurrence if only for coming before the convention, there was little gained from the "monster" rhetoric and backhanded McCain endorsements that created the climate where the infamous defection poll's results were unsurprising.

If the campaigns can maintain their current tenor - whether they’ve come about because Hillary has given up or sees more to be gained by stating positive - the long primary may be far better for the party than most pundits dared to hope.