Don't They Look Foolish? -- The Brilliant Orchestration of the Democratic Convention

Jack Nicholson said the line in A Few Good Men. But today it's media pundits and Republicans with egg liberally smeared on their faces. And I'm wondering: was it planned or was it accidental?

For months Hillary's support has been questioned, her every word and body language dissected. "She's not fully on board." "She's giving lip service." "Why won't she release her delegates?"

And Bill has been positively demonized. "He's sulking." "He's angry." "He's still bitter over Hillary's loss." "Obama hasn't reached out to him."

In fact, in the media Bill and Hillary were the story. What would they do at the convention? What would she do with her delegates? Is her tepid support driving a wedge? Was Bill unhappy about the topic he'd been assigned? Why wasn't she even vetted for vice president? Which, if either of the Clintons, would attend Obama's acceptance speech? And would that be a slap in the face?

Even Hillary's fabulous speech on Tuesday night was dismembered. "It was generic." "It lacked passion." "It was not wholehearted." "She could have done more."

All nitpicking.

Today, after Bill Clinton's convention speech, it is obvious that the Clintons are fully on board. And what looked like a growing tropical storm on Monday and Tuesday looks, in the light of Thursday morning, like brilliant strategy.

Did Hillary hold back, giving a superb but not perfect speech, on purpose? Was it planned that the "lack of experience" issue would be put to rest by Bill rather than by her? Did the Clintons, Obama, the Obama campaign and the Democratic party give pundits and Republicans enough rope to hang themselves with their foolish stirring - even fomenting - of various tempests in assorted teapots?

Whether purposeful or not, the result is the same. This morning, August 27, 2008, the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech, the day that Barack Obama will give his historic acceptance speech, the pundits, the slanted news media and the Republicans have that thick coating of egg cemented to their nitpicking faces. What ever will they talk about now?

The news media has gleefully stoked this "conflict," throwing any log they could find - or manufacture, as it turns out - on the fire for these months since the primaries. Well, don't they look foolish!

Yes they do.

Those Republican attack ads taking Hillary's words out of the primary context, inserting them in the election are trash now. Well, they were trash before, but Republicans had some deniability because they could leverage the "conflict" created by the "news" media. After this brilliant gradation of enthusiastic Obama support by "problematic" Democrats (the Clintons, actually), don't the Republicans look foolish?

Yes they do!

Maybe now the media can get back to reporting real news, rather than gossip, hearsay and unsubstantiated negative fantasies of Republican pundits. Talk about "nattering, nabobs of negativity." Spiro Agnew should only see his Republicans now!

Maybe the news media will hire thoughtful Republican analysts to look at campaign issues honestly rather than the pugnacious bullies they continually pair with sincere Democrats. Bullies will always sacrifice truth to victory. And that's the spectacle we see night after night, day after day.

Maybe responsible news outlets will begin to challenge the lies and misinformation the pundits spew rather than allowing them to flow unchallenged, poisoning our national debate.

And maybe the Republicans will finally get down to discussing issues instead of fomenting false controversies, fabricating gossip and dismissing support with the smear of "girly celebrity." Our candidate is more popular than your candidate. GET OVER IT!

So, whether the escalated enthusiasm of the Clintons' Obama endorsements were choreographed or not, the result was brilliant. Perhaps that is why Obama looked so calm all week; maybe he knew what was coming all along. Or perhaps he has that signature strength of great leaders: grace under pressure.

If it was planned, it bodes well for the Democrat's ability to deal with the vicious Republican onslaught that is surely in store from here on out. If it was not planned, the Democrats have finally gotten a bit of serendipity.

But, planned or not, this is a fabulous moment in the sun.

And ... don't they look foolish.

Yes they do!