Joe Blog

Barack Obama is unexpectedly bridging the gap between Giants Super Bowl glory and the holy start of Yankees spring training. Winning by huge margins (it'll be 10 state victories in a row after he trounces Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin next week), he's having this incredible stature spurt in the brightest lights.

We're getting back to where things seemed after Iowa, only with a tested sort of credibility now. When Clinton surrogates come on cable news shows these days they seem spooked. When you're a Democrat, you get into politics to make a difference for the greater good. You can see the mix of frustrated awe and their own sense of mortality written all over their faces. Hillary's supporters will happily fall in with the Obama camp after he vanquishes her.

Her concession is going to be a relief, and a moment of coalescence. She's going to surprise some people who want to believe she's some cold, manipulative and satanically-ambitious dragon lady with her grace and resolve to helping get Barack elected President. I'm very curious to see what a Hillary Clinton, suddenly free from the expectations of millions and the measured way of living with one eye on the Presidency for a good part of her life, will do next. She can accomplish incredible things in the Senate if she wants that. We're entering as close to a 'Golden Age' for the Democratic Party as we could ever hope for these days. I think Senator Clinton can be the next Ted Kennedy -- Senate Icon and champion of progressive causes.

I'm sure it corrupts everyone who runs for President to some degree (Hillary Clnton is no more guilty of doing the politically expedient thing with that Iraq War vote than John Kerry was), but I'd like to see the Clntons once again working for the Progressive ideals that got them into politics and government in the first place. Before triangulation and equivocation in exchange for a more solid grip on power dictated what positions they took.

But this is Obama's time. Surely they see that by now.