This just in: Lyndon Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr, both still dead

In related news, aides report that neither one is rolling over in his grave.

You know what this piece by Michael Duffy in Time is?

Sports reporting.

In sports reporting you're allowed to write about possibilities as if they were realities and about what didn't happen and what might have happened and what might yet happen and what could conceivably happen if all the stars align and the laws of time and physics are suspended and what doesn't stand a chance in hell of happening as if it all did in fact happen.

That's what Duffy's article does, treats a future possibility as a present day fact.

All political journalism these days that isn't theater criticism or pop cultural me-too-ism is sports reporting.

One more thing.

In Duffy's imaginary universe there are only two people running for the Democratic nomination and if and when they knock each other out there'll be nobody there to step over their sprawled and unconscious bodies to take the the title.

Didn't there used to be a candidate named John Edwards?  I thought he was pretty popular too.  My mistake.

Oh, and yeah, everything is bad news for the Democrats.

Comments

[Ken Houghton]

He's still my candidate of choice, which means he's well and truly doomed. (That said, Krugman notes today that he is, to some extent, driving Hillary's positions on issues, so the longer he stays in, the better for the Democrats in their attempts to upset John McCain in the general election.)

[Neo]

How do you think Detroit’s largely black population is going to react when they go to the polls tomorrow and learn that (a) Hillary Clinton is on the ballot (b) Barack Obama is not on the ballot (c) Write-in votes are not counted? If the Clintons think they have a potential race problem brewing in the Democratic Party now, they haven’t seen anything yet.

Pollsters say N.Y. senator may face embarrassment if she falls below 60% against 'uncommitted' on Dems' ballot.

[stinger]

Edwards has never polled lower than double-digits, despite the presence of the two "rock stars", but it seems as if he may as well not even be in the race. I caucused for him as hard as I could.

Speaking of Hepburn (we were, weren't we?), as soon as you recommended "How to Hepburn" I rushed right out and bought, read, and enjoyed it - or at least I ordered it through this site, read, and enjoyed it - and I'm still waiting for the interview!

[Daniel]

Right wing commentary has driven sports radio in tone and style for a long time now. It wouldn't surprise me to hear it feeding back a bit the other way.

[Pug]

Edwards is polling pretty well in Nevada, only three points behind the Queen and five behind Sidney Poitier. I'm kidding.

[Batocchio]

You're absolutely right, especially about: "All political journalism these days that isn't theater criticism or pop cultural me-too-ism is sports reporting." (I just wrote a post about the horse race coverage, actually.)

I saw the headline of the Duffy piece, was disgusted, read the piece, and the feeling intensified.

The thing is, real sportswriters have their share of sycophants, but most of them don't outright lie... certainly when it comes to sportscasters, play-by-play men don't!