Meltdown!

I was beginning to wonder. We’d gone through an entire campaign involving Mike Hatch and we hadn’t seen one intemperate remark. Perhaps he’d finally acquired the discipline necessary to ignore the taunts, to stay focused on the task at hand, to finally reach the goal he had sought for nearly 20 years. And then:

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/786189.html

Article speaks for itself, I think, but let’s consider a few things.

First, the Duluth News-Tribune is hardly a Republican organ. The Duluth paper is as liberal as the Star Tribune, perhaps even more so. This is hardly surprising, considering that the Iron Range and the North Shore are among the most liberal places in the country outside the coasts. So for Hatch to even think that any reporter for the Duluth paper is a Republican operative/hack/whore, or any other pejorative term you’d prefer, borders on the preposterous.

Second, I think this reflects something about the danger the Democratic Party currently has. There is so much rage in so many places in the Democratic realm, but most people simply aren’t that angry about the world. I suspect that a lot of people are tired of the war, and that others are simply tired of George W. Bush in general, and Republicans in particular. But I don’t think there’s a lot of rage. The palpable anger that you get from so many Democrats tends to frighten off people who don’t care as much. I think that Amy Klobuchar’s calm persona has been her greatest asset in her Senate run. She’s downright soothing, compared to the antsy, nerdy Mark Kennedy. And because Klobuchar is so soothing, people haven’t really thought through the absurdities she’s been spouting. But she comes across as a cool customer and I think a lot of people are looking for that temperament in their leaders these days.