The Obama-Clinton Cease-Fire

Over the past week, you might have noticed the change. The gunfire, raging so long now that it seemed as if we might never know life without it, has stopped. Well, not stopped altogether, of course. Rather, it has been aimed off in another direction. Yes, it appears that the days of Democrat on Democrat violence are behind us. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have stopped shooting at one another.

From The Washington Post:

...the reality is that both sides have declared an effective cease-fire as they prepare to bring the party together for a general-election campaign against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)

Now, like all fledgling cease-fire agreements, this one stands on somewhat wobbly legs. We still don't have an official treaty detailing the specific terms of surrender. Even while Clinton no longer directly attacks Obama's credentials, and Obama scarcely mentions Clinton's name, except to compliment her, there is that tricky matter of the face-saving end game.

Obama would very much like to declare outright victory today in Iowa, but Clinton has warned him against making premature statements. So, Obama will simply have to content himself with small steps. He'll tell the nation that, after winning Oregon and losing Kentucky, he has at last earned an outright majority of pledged delegates.

Clinton will try to counter that she is closing in on, or is ahead in, the popular vote. That claim assumes the most charitable resolution possible of the Michigan and Florida debacle, and everybody knows the final settlement won't be so rosy for her. Stranger still, is the fact that this appeal to ignore the supposedly undemocratic delegate count in favor of the popular vote total is directed at superdelegates, whose undemocratic whimsy represents Clinton's last shot at getting the nomination.

Yes, beneath still waters, strong currents still run. The real question now is whether Clinton is fighting on because she thinks she still has a chance at winning the nomination, or, as The Post's Richard Cohen suggests, this long, hard goodbye is really about positioning the Balboa-esque candidate for a future shot at the title:

But in the end, when Obama is crowned king of the Democrats, Clinton will throw her arms around him and the music will swell and the crowds will cheer--and everything will be forgotten. And when that happens, Hillary Clinton--who will be only 65 in 2012 and four years after that will still be younger than McCain is now--will be positioned to run for president, not as someone's wife, but as a gritty fighter who just would not quit.

So will the cease-fire hold? While we may have a few bumps along the way, Clinton is too smart to open up the big guns on Obama again. Better she use them on John McCain, and save some ammunition for a few years down the road, too.