Trivialities

It's an old story. Somebody asks a losing candidate how he lost. The response: the other guy got more votes!

If you're a well-respected political journalist and the New York Times asks you to dissect the failings of the Clinton campaign, your best bet is to offer up something trivially true that won't upset any of your sources or your readers, but might strike someone as interesting, which is why Mark Halperin can get away with explaining that Hillary lost because she lost the black vote.

Well, umm, duh.

Ana Marie Cox thinks that sometimes media coverage is stupid. Thanks, Ana.

Bob Kerrey kinda sorta thinks that she lost because Obama was a better candidate. But in order to take the edge off, he elevates Obama into the Best. Candidate. Ever. Because, you see, it's in Bob Kerrey's interest to avoid the perception that he picked a shitty candidate out of crass political opportunism and calculated poorly.