In the movie Logan's Run (1976), everyone who lives in the city, a glass and neon oasis within a post-apocalyptic ruin, has a Life-Clock crystal that tells them how long they have to live. It's a horrifyingly practical solution to the threat of overcrowding: thirty-year life spans. And when the crystal blinks red, it's Last Day, time to die. Most city-dwellers celebrate Last Day. Young and beautiful, they are confident that they will be "renewed" to live again.
But some, particularly those reaching the end of their Life-Clocks, know literally or instinctively that the blinking red crystal portends death with no resurrection, and they try to breech the city seals and escape to "Sanctuary." They are called "Runners." Chasing after them, "Sandmen": hunters who put Runners to sleep.
That, to put it simply, is what's happening in the Democratic primary.
Hillary Clinton outlasted a crowded field but is now reaching the end of her political life span. She looks at Barack Obama, that young and beautiful Chicago wunderkind, and knows that her crystal is blinking red. She has run and run. No safety could be found in North Carolina. She hoped for sanctuary in Indiana, but she only found a brief respite. The Sandmen are close behind, ready to terminate her campaign. And as this embedded video indicates, serious media pundits are concluding that it's time for the Clinton campaign to be put to sleep. I hate to sound cruel, but in a race whose drip-drip rhythm is nothing less than tortuous, I agree.
3 comments:
This is so weird; I was just thinking of the old Star Trek episode similar to this movie - except that there was a lottery over who would live or die. And then I click on this post.
Anyway, to this Clinton/Obama thing. I think the DNC is to be faulted for this mess. I believe that, until just very recently at least, both Clinton and Obama were put between a rock and a hard place; the very thing that makes this "race" so interesting keeps them stuck there thanks to the DNC. That reason, I believe, is that for the first time ever in this country we have both a woman and a black man to choose from, and one of them could very likely be President. I think that "hard place" is also in part due to each person's specific constituencies - women and African-American. If either HC or BO drops out, those populations might feel rather let down, with serious repercussions (or at least by the over-50 population). I think the DNC could have avoided this, and should change their policies so that this doesn't happen again.
It really is a perfect storm, DD, isn't it?
Thanks as always for your feedback.
Hi again, Andrew.
Last night I saw Jimmy Carter on Jay Leno show. He reminded me of the history of delegates in the DNC - its reform led by McGovern in the '70s (so that "dark horse" candidates would be no more; I remember this from high school back then), and Ted Kennedy's attempt to bypass committed Carter delegates.
As usual, remembering history helps to understand the present (or, how we jumped from one frying pan to another).
Post a Comment