Gored And Eddied - Why

Gored And Eddied - Why why are Democrats pulling out of the presidential race, two years early, without the benefit of a Supreme Court case even? Gore, Edwards...

A friend of mine last night had a good observation - the smart Democrats see that it's pretty much an unwinnable situation for them - but being the Vice Presidential half of a losing ticket isn't such a bad plan. '04 is to the Dems what '96 was to the GOP - a dead issue.

I think the parallels bear some extending. I think it'll remain for the elder statesman of the party, the one for whom the presidency is less a match than a sinecure - to make the run and thus take the running fall on his sword. As in '96, it was Bob Dole, in '04 it'll be Kerry, or Gephardt, or anyone too old and slow to get out of the way of the speeding GOP truck.